Enature.com

Hi All,

Just found out about one of the most popular nature sites on the web: Enature.com. I never heard about it before...but wow.  What a vast treasure trove of information about wild animals and plants of the United States. 

The core content of the wildlife is information about nearly 6,000 individual species.  Information on the site comes from the same data set used to created the printed edition of the Audubon Field Guides.  Awesome - the information is basically free!!!

So - what does the site offer viewers?  There are Wildlife Guides, links to Local Nature, Ask an Expert, Fun & Games, an Advanced Search and a blog.  Users can also conduct a species search and look for Field Guides for more than 5,500 species. 

Field Guides run the gamut of animals:  from Birds, Butterflies, Fishes, Insects & Spiders, Mammals, Reptiles & Amphibians, Seashore Creatures, Trees and Wildflowers.  Clicking on this link brings you to the Field Guides search page where you can search the Field Guides by the category listed above - and you can search within the Field Guides by keyword.

Each Field Guide has the name of the animal, its family, a description, dimensions, habitat, observation tips, range, voice, similar species and a brief discussion of the animal.

Awesome, awesome, awesome - comprehensive, authoritative and easy to use information is available.  What a great site for a nature lover who is conversant with the internet and computers. 

Also on this page is a box that users can use to find a particular option:
1. Learn what wildlife lives in my area.
2. Identify an animal or plant I just saw.
3. Ask a specimen question.
4. Get information about a National Park or Refuge.
5.  Know what endangered species live near me.

Finally, click on this link for the Free iPhone Apps from eNature.com!

Enjoy the site and the information!

Regards,
Stu

Earthcam and other Live Cams...

Hi All,

With all the red light and speed cameras, tv on the web (not to mention movies on demand - hello Netflix) It seems like we live in a world of 24x7x365 video. Oh, right...let's not forget about tablets and smartphones that have video capabilities...I guess we do live in a world of video.

So, without further ado - here is Earthcam.  What is Earthcam you ask?  Great question.

As the site itself proclaims, "EarthCam.com is the premiere network of scenic webcams and offers a complete searchable database of interesting places and views from around the world. The award winning website (Webby Award Winner – Tourism) is viewed by fans in 192 countries and ranks among the top 1% of all websites. EarthCam.com is the world’s favorite webcam network and the EarthCam Network cameras have been seen on top news shows, including CNN’s Headline News."

So there you have it.  Earthcam is a major site for watching LIVE Webcams.  Just on their homepage visitors can look at video from Times Square, NYC, Las Vegas, NV, Venice Beach California, Washington DC, Mount Rushmore and much more....

There is even an Earthcam Hall of Fame - this link will take you to that part of the Earthcam site.  Basically these are webcams that visitors to Earthcam submit. 

Funstuff for sure...just make sure that you don't obsess over the webcams. 

Other interesting webcam sites include:
Yellowstone National Park - webcam
123Cam
GeoCam.tv
VolcanoLive.com
CornellLab of Ornithology - bird cams

Enjoy the sites and the cams!

Regards,
Stu

A Better Bird Feeder

Hi All,

It is summertime and the birds are out singing and chirping all around us.  Which got me thinking...'how do these birds eat?'  What do they eat and, 'could I help them to eat?'.  And that got me thinking about bird feeders and building them...and that was how I came to write todays' blog entry about building bird feeders.

So...clicking on this link will take you to a link from Lowe's about building a bird feeder.  The link includes a list of tools and materials needed for this project, as well as a 1 minute video.  Also included are step-by-step instructions how to complete the birdhouse.

This next link is from This Old House - and also explains how to build a bird house.  Again, a video is supplied for the readers interest.  The instructions from this link are a bit more comprehensive than the first one - but are still very, very helpful.

Readers can click on this link from Allcrafts.net in order to get 50+ free bird house and bird feeder woodcraft plans. Included in this plans are beginner bird houses, pole bird houses, nesting boxes, bluebird houses, plate and feeder bird bowls, box houses for sparrows, Oriole feeders and traditional birdhouses.

Click on this link - which will help you identify birds that you might come across in your backyard - or wherever you put the birdfeeder! (Link goes to a website which - appropriately enough - is called 'What Bird?'.)

Finally, on Tuesday, July 8th at 3pm the library is hosting a program entitled, 'Building a Better Bird Feeder'.  Program is for students entering grades 3-5 and online registration began on June 24th.  If you have kids or grandkids, this might be a great introduction to the joys of building birdhouses - and feeding birds!  Click here to learn more about the program we are offering at the library.

Enjoy the links! And enjoy seeing the birds.
Regards,
Stu

More Birding

Hi All,

I did a birding post on November 2nd and since then it has been one of the best viewed blog entries! Go figure - who knew that birding was such a hot topic among my blog readers?

Well, I am very glad to find a topic that I was able to tap into - and which my readers find interesting! Onward and upward!

Here is another entry on birding. Specifically this entry is about the various organizations and groups on Long Island dedicated to birding. There are quite a few of them, so birding enthusiasts have plenty of choices!

Click here for a site called LIBirds.com. On the homepage of the site you'll find links to Sightings, Seasonal Spots, Backyard, Photo Page (don't miss this - great pictures of birds!), Bird ID, Featured Bird and Links. For those who are interested in the Audubon society, the Links page has a list - and links - to local Audubon chapters! Very helpful!

Click on this link for a page on About.com called 'Bird Watching on Long Island'. There are 9 different links on the page that discuss bird watching. Locations as varied as Garvies Point Preserve, Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center, Garden City Bird Sanctuary and the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge are mentioned.

Blog readers who are out in the field and who are looking at birds and want to identify them should click on this link called Whatbird.com. On the site you can identify birds by location, shape, size, primary color, secondary color, habitat, bill shape, bill length, wing shape, conservation status, song patter (amazing) and more....great stuff. Don't miss Whatbird.com!

Finally, click on this link from Audubon.com - the link is to a subsite on the Audubon entitled 'Birds'. You can find more information on birds, including bird profiles, a link to state of the birds, important bird areas and a link to the Great Backyard Bird Count. Neat stuff...

FYI, if you do a Google search for the term 'birding' you'll find over 16 million hits...ack. If you do a Google search for the term 'birding long island', you'll find just under 1.3 million hits...ack again.

Enjoy the links and the birds - its a great time of year to view them!
Stu

It's For the Birds!

Hi All,

Birds - they are everywhere we look: in trees, on telephone pole wires, the roofs of houses and sitting on fences. And they come in so many different colors and shapes and sizes.

They are just so darn colorful and adorable and when they sing....and chirp. How could you do anything else other than look at photos of birds - or go birdwatching.

From time to time, I'll probably do some more entries regarding birds and birdwatching and bird related activities. Its becoming an interest of mine recently and the blog lets me write a bit about this newly found interest.

So...here are a bunch of websites related to bird watching. Note that you could type in the phrase 'bird watching' in Google and you'll find links to many, many different websites. Or...you could just use some of these excellent links:

BirdWatcher'sDigest.com - comprehensive site with info on bird identification, bird feeding, bird conservation, links to their newsletter, a really good photo gallery and a section on optics!

Birdwatching.com - a more 'sedate' website than BWD mentioned above...has birding FAQ's, birding tips, bird's stories, software and links to optics. Similar, but different than first birding site - but still worth a visit.

One of the premier website for birdwatching comes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology - click here for the link. The site deals with exploring and conserving nature...in particular there is a bird guide, a link to birding basics, and links for how viewers can get involved with birding.

This is really one of the seminal - and I don't use that word often - websites for and about birding - you don't want to miss it!

Regards and happy birding!
Stu

Gotta Love Them - Gotta Have Them!

Hi All, Welcome to another edition of the Farmingdale PL blog called Reference and You...today we are going to discuss lots and lots of adorable pet pictures. Click here for a great link to LOLCats - lots of adorable, funny photos of cats and kittens in various funny, humorous and entertaining poses. Are you more of a dog person? Well, we've got you covered also - click here for a similar site to LOLCats, but this deals with dogs, puppies and pooches! Are you one of the many folks who love hamsters? Hammies are a great way for young children to learn about the responsibility of owning a pet. Click here for some great hammy pictures. Are you a bird lover? Click here for some truly astonishing photos of birds in all their glory. Note that the photos came from National Geographic - a very well known nature oriented organization. Also note that the page is organized by topic: birds of prey, waterfowl photos, bird wallpapers, waterbird photos, flightless bird photos, shorebird photos and much more. Finally, just to make this an even more educational post, you might want to visit the National Wildlife Federation or the National Audubon Society or the Sierra Club in order to support nature, animals and our environment. Enjoy the photos! stu Five reason to Friend the library on Facebook? 1. books on festivals 2. books on food 3. books on football 4. books on Fellowships 5. books on Fantasy (like science fiction)...(notice that all the reasons began with the letter 'F'? Ten reasons to follow us on Twitter? (did you notice that all the examples begin with the letter 'T'? 1. books on tennis 2. tv's in the library - news is educational! 3. tea - we have coffee and tea at our concession stand now (located in the rotunda) 4. our Teacher's Center - full of lesson plans for teachers 5. telecommunications - what? I'm making this up as I go along and I thought that I could substitute 'internet' for 'telecommunications'. Yes, we have a wifi connection all throughout the first floor in the librrary 6. tax forms - we've got reproducible tax forms in spades at the reference desk 7. Tai Chi classes - we've got them for patrons - see our newsletter for registration dates 8. Teen Scene Room - we now have a dedicated teen room located on the first floor of the library. We have board games, computers and an ultra-comfortable table for teens to use to study or 'hang out' in. 9. We have a large collection of books on iTunes for patrons to borrow. 10. Tutor.com - a fantastic online solution for students who need to get homework help in subjects as varied as math, science, social studies, english and more.

Birding on Long Island

Hi All,

You see them all around - possibly even feeding some of them. They have vibrant colors, sing wonderful songs in the morning and have adorable shapes. What am I talking about you ask? Birds of course!

And Long Island is home for some fantastic birds! Click here to find a small article about Suffolk County birds. The article discusses Dune Road in near Shinnecock and Moriches.

If you are a beginning birder this site from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a must see. Birding Basics, bird guides and more are all available from this very authoritative website. Note that users can find birds by name, bird shape, bird family and more.

Furthermore, when you find a particular bird, users get a picture of said bird, identification methods, a life history of the bird, sounds the bird makes and video of the bird. There is also a range map which describes the locations and geographical places that the bird can be found.

This is a wonderfully comprehensive birding website even for the intermediate birder in your life.

Click here for the Wikipedia entry on birding. The entry gives context to the hobby and is well written. Notice also that the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is mentioned about half-way down the article. The SSAS has a wonderful mission statement that can be found on the home page link.

The organization sponsors birding outings and is active in promoting environmental education. Definitely worth looking into if you like birding or if you think you might like birding, click here for a more informal view of Long Island birding from Long Island Birding.com.

Going back to a site that I use often in this blog is About.com. Click here for the About.com birding entry - which, while somewhat similar to the Wikipedia entry, is more thorough and more comprehensive. Click here for About.com entry on '3 Steps to Easy Bird Identification'

Reades should note that there are many, many organizations dedicated to birding, especially on Long Island. Click here for the South Shore Audubon Society webpage.

Finally, click here for a more informal view of Long Island birding from Long Island Birding.com.

Regards and happy birding!
Stu

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