Birdwise

Trivia King Returns

2008-11-05T19:38:00.000-08:00

Before I started doing Birdwise, I produced a live, call-in show called Trivia King. The series ran for three years. The last year, I served as a sponsor and responsible adult to the youth (including my youngest son) who operated the show. In 2009 when my oldest son, Riley, the original show host, was out of school (and out of work), we revived the show for three consequtive weeks in December. y. Check out our promo, it's a hoot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO0b3Ja-oys

Birdwise Producers win Audubon Award

2008-04-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

Tom Schooley and I (Tim Sweeney) received a special award for education from the Black Hills Audubon Society for producing two years of Birdwise. I have to admit I have missed the show since we stopped producing in December 2007. At the same time, I recognize we were running out of steam and it was good to stop while the programs were still getting good rather than having the quality deteriorate. My latest videos can be found by searching Google Video. Look for an Olympia-based blues band called FishTrap doing original music and an amazing compendium of Thurston County Democrats citing the 2008 county platform shown before an audience of 2,000 people on April 17.

December 2007 Birdwise is final episode

2007-11-27T08:55:00.000-08:00

Well, we decided better to stop before we got tired of doing it. Our last show focuses on you the birder and features interviews with birders at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, tips on good birding by Burt, a trip along the little William Cannon trail on Mud Bay and a few other farewell surprises. It's been great doing the show. I've learned a lot. Please support birding in your community. If you live in my area, join the Black Hills Audubon Society and the Friends of the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.
Birdwise Video Magazine - December 2007

November Birdwise premieres on TCTV

2007-10-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

For the November 2007 Birdwise, Tom Schooley and I travel down to Centralia and walk the Chehalis River Discovery Trail where the willows by the river were loaded with yellow-rumped warblers. We also talked with Janet Strong, president of the Chehalis River Basin Land Trust, the organization pivotal in helping the trail become a realityl. Our bird or rather birds of the month are gulls. Burt Guttman talks about "brood parasites," those birds that use other bird species as a form of child care. Sheila McCartan updates us on a bluebird reintroduction project as well as provide us with the latest on area birding hikes. We also visit the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Nature Store to get some tips from Dennis Weeks on what books would make good holiday gifts for your favorite birder. And of course, Featherman Phil Kelley drops in to give us the forecast for November birding.

The show airs on Thurston Community Television Channel 22, Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. We will have a copy of the show posted on Google Video in another week.

November_2007_Birdwise.mp4

26 min 21 sec - Nov 27, 2007

October Birdwise now available online

2007-09-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

Birdwise Video Magazine - October 2007

27 min 31 sec - Sep 24, 2007
The October Birdwise gets a bit more scientific than usual. Professor Guttman gets into the "selfish gene" discussion, in talking about the reproduction strategies of acorn woodpeckers. Dr. Scott Pearson of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife talks about his research into a subspecies of Horned Lark, the streaked horned lark in Western Washington. This struggling subspecies is found in open prairies which is diminishing in our region. Oh, and the bird of the month is the Brown Creeper.

September episode begins run on September 2

2007-08-28T15:58:00.001-07:00

Birdwise Video Magazine - September 2007

28 min 45 sec - Aug 28, 2007

Featherman Phil Kelley fills in for Birdwise host Tom Schooley (currently on assignment) for the September edition of Birdwise, Thurston County's video magazine on birds and birding. September's bird of the month is the cedar waxwing. Professor Burt Guttman discusses the two types of breeding strategies: birds who produce many precocial young capable of leaving the nest almost immediately and birds who produce fewer young but have to nurture them through a more dependent period. The show then covers the efforts that killdeer go through to protect their nest, including faking a broken wing (Filmed at Capital Lake Park). The September Birdwise also offers the usual news and calendar of events by Sheila McCartan. The show airs Sundays at 1 p.m. and Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 22. But you can watch it now (albeit in lower resolution) on Google Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9185639408579547655&hl=en

July and August Shows now available

2007-07-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

The July and August 2007 episodes of Birdwise are now available through Google Video.

July 2007 show features fish hawks and mating habits with the bird of the month being the Osprey and Professor Guttman talking sex (mating practices of birds. Other segments in the July show cover bird baths and a tour of Tolmie State Park . As always, Birdwise offers birding news, a calendar of events and an avian forecast of what to look for in the month of July.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5745809157411631988&hl=en

The August 2007 edition of the 30-minute monthly video magazine on birding features molting, wings of flight, the Nisqually Reach Nature Center and bald eagles.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8982113392879270430

July Birdwise premieres Sunday July 1

2007-06-22T09:42:00.000-07:00

Fish hawks and bird mating habits fill the Birdwise program in July. Thurston County’s only locally-produced monthly program on birding features the Osprey as July’s bird of the month. The 30-minute program airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. Other segments in the July show provide an explanation of the mating practices of birds, tips on bird baths and a tour of Tolmie State Park . As always, Birdwise offers birding news, a calendar of events and an avian forecast of what to look for in the month of July. Birdwise is independently produced with technical assistance from TCTV, and with subject matter expertise provided by the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and the Black Hills Audubon Society.

Tim Sweeney

News and Calendar for July 2007

2007-06-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

This is the time of year for thousands of volunteers to get out and participate in the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The BBS is a long-term, large-scale, international avian monitoring program initiated in 1966 to track the status and trends of North American bird populations. The BBS is a cooperative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and the Canadian Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Research Centre. Following a rigorous protocol, BBS data are collected by dedicated participants along thousands of randomly established roadside routes throughout the continent. Professional BBS coordinators and data managers work closely with researchers and statisticians to compile and deliver these population data and population trend analyses on more than 400 bird species, for use by conservation managers, scientists, and the general public. You can find out lots more about Breeding Bird Surveys on their website www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge’s 20^th annual Summer Lecture Series will be held every Wednesday evening in July and August starting July 11. Topics include butterflies, fire, earthquakes, forest canopies, dragonflies, climate change, whales, and wildlife. For complete schedule and more information, go to www.fws.gov/nisqually or call 360-753-9467.

The City of Olympia Parks and Recreation Department has some great outdoor activities planned for this summer. You can easily include bird watching into these events. For instance, try exploring Puget Sound from a sea kayak. There is a trip on Saturday July 21 to Ketron Island and on Saturday Aug 25 on the Nisqually Delta. The Outdoor Adventures staff will be leading these fun and educational kayak tours. The tours are beginner-oriented and are in calm, protected areas. Surprise visits from wildlife friends is promised. The cost of each trip is $49.

If kayaking isn’t your thing then join the outdoor staff on a fun and scenic day hike trip. There are several planned to the Olympic National Forest including one on Sunday July 22 to the South Fork Skokomish River and one on Saturday August 18 to Lower Lena Lake. Bring your camera, binoculars, lunch and hiking boots! These trips are rated between easy and moderate. The cost for the hiking trips is $29.

For more information on the kayak or hiking trips, call the parks department at 360.753.8380 or go to their website www.olympiawa.gov/cityservices

On Sunday, August 26, enjoy spectacular natural splendor on a float trip of the lower Nisqually River. Birds and other wildlife are often seen along the riverbanks. Experienced guides steer professional quality rafts. The $79 fee includes all rafting equipment and a fantastic buffet lunch. This trip is sponsored by Tumwater Parks and Recreation so for more information call them at 754-4160. www.ci.tumwater.wa.us

For a complete listing of the contact information mentioned here, e-mail us at TCTVbirdwise@yahoo.com .

June Birdwise editing done, ready for premiere

2007-05-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

We taped the June and July studio shots at the same time because of scheduling difficulties in July. I finished editing the June show this weekend. As with the May show, there is a pre-show video of a red-breasted sapsucker tapping hard on a douglas fir. The shot divides to show a burrowing owl responding to the sapsucker's knocking with the question: Whoooo is there?

The June show offers cross-species mating (well more accurately cross-species brooding, called "mixed brood") We also do a feature on the do do bird. Our featured bird site is Ellis Cove Trail in Priest Point Park and our bird of the month is the winter wren. We also have a rather disgusting little video of a robin removing a fecal sac from one of its babies. All that and more starting Sunday June 3. Birdwise airs Sundays at 1 p.m. and Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on Thurston Community Television Channel 22.

Birdwise Recognized in Regional Awards

2007-05-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

Birdwise was recognized by the Alliance for Community Media during its Northwest Spring Conference with a judge's choice award in the Best of the Northwest Video Awards. While Birdwise didn't win the top prize the Honorable Mention in the informational program category is not bad given we were using shows from last year when we barely knew what we were doing. The Alliance for Community Media ~ Northwest Region represents Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) cable TV access organizations, community media centers, and access producers throughout Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

May show features spring and bird calls

2007-05-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

The hills (and woods) are alive with the sounds of bird music and Birdwise in the month of May pays tribute to a few of the more chattier birds of spring. Host Tom Schooley introduces the show's sponsor (the white-crowned sparrow) while Burt Guttman points out the small features of song birds that make them easier to identify. Sheila McCartan reports on the satellite tracking of godwits migration in the Pacific and provides a timely list of local bird field trips. And Featherman Phil Kelley forecasts what birds to look for in May. Birdwise also takes viewers on a trip through Burfoot Park where Tom offers a short lesson on birding by ear. Birdwise, a 30-minute independently produced television show, airs on commercial-free, TCTV Channel 22, Sundays at 1 p.m. and Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. The show is produced with the assistance of volunteers from the Black Hills Audubon Society and the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. The new edition premieres May 3.

Thank you.

Tim Sweeney

Birdwise Producer