Twocubdad 665 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 @ I had it explained to me that in bear country one is to wear small bells on the shoe laces of the boots and carry pepper spray. That way when you find bear scat, the scat that has bells in it and smells like pepper is grizzly scat. Reminds me of a story about a group backpacking in Europe when they come across a male and female bear. It's a long story and not really worth the effort, but the punch line is, "the Czech's in the male." 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh 3452 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 My wife is a master gardener and forester by training. To the left of my computer are hundreds of books on plant and animal identification. She has books that look up by Latin names, by common names, by color, by flower, by leaves and by fruit. The best book she ever bought and my favorite is WEEDS OF THE NORTHERN U.S. AND CANADA, by France Royer and Richard Dickinson. Seriously??? a 434 page book on weeds? It's really a neat book. Link to post Share on other sites
JoeBob 606 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 JoeBob is not Texan, but did compete in Cowboy Action Shooting back when he had spare time. Hence the cowboy hat in the avatar and your understandable misconception. On topic: Does anyone know of a good app for bird-calls? Preferably one that can be localized. We're going to be in the southern Appalachians and I'd like to get samples for the birds common to the area. Link to post Share on other sites
perdidochas 658 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 yeah, this is the place where the requirements are totally stupid. What that means is that frogs and salamanders don't count, nor do starfish, jellyfish, bryozoans, or sponges...some of the most interesting creatures on the planet. And...what about the one class of animal for which there are more species than all the others put together? Nope, can't count them. Stupid. I ignore it as a thoughtless and unintentional exclusion of most of the animal kingdom. Whoever wrote that probably failed basic biology. Well, the 1958/1959 requirements say: Find & identify evidence of 6 different kinds of wild mammals, birds, reptiles, or fish. Explain how plant life & wildlife live together The 1965 requirements say: Identify poisonous plants. Find & identify evidence of 10 different kinds of wild mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, or insects. Explain how this wildlife depends on plants. In 1990, they were changed to current form. However, they were possibly changed in the Skill Awards from 1972-1988. I agree that it's arbitrary, but outside of coastal people, it's kind of hard to see the sponges, etc. I'm guessing that insects may have made the 10 too easy to get. I know I can probably find 10 kinds of insects in 10 minutes. Link to post Share on other sites
perdidochas 658 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 The training syllabus from BSA also lists "insects," "invertebrates," "crustaceans," and "amphibians." That's good enough for me. When BSA itself creates an ambiguity, I resolve it in favor of the Scouts every time. Regarding what "identify" means, please address this, gang: The Scout out in the woods says he clear saw a Goldfinch. He can describe the bird's appearance and can even describe its distinctive flight pattern. He tells this to whoever is authorized to sign him off. Should he be signed-off? The "evidence" option is easy, as is the plant ID (He can lead you up to the plant and point.) It's only the animal ID where I am being questioned. I simply go with the Scout Handbook. I would go with the Scout with the Goldfinch. In fact, I allow scouts to write out a list of what they see (similar to a birder's list). Link to post Share on other sites
packsaddle 753 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Believe it or not, there are freshwater sponges. Fairly common at that but not conspicuous. Also please note that after better wording was found in a training manual I retracted my criticism of the scope, since it was broader than the 'requirement' implied. And I can see the reasoning with regard to the insects. But why ignore them? They're one of the most important groups of animals and by far the largest in terms of numbers of species. Link to post Share on other sites
CalicoPenn 729 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Joe Bob, Audubon Birds has a good app for bird identification that includes bird songs. Sibley has a good app as well though it's pricier. Link to post Share on other sites
JoeBob 606 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Calico - Thx I was looking at the Audubon but was not sure that I could focus it to local birds that the boys might see. I'm liking the 'App' concept while teaching 'Nature MB' this summer. Makes them use their screens for something besides Halo IV, Revenge of the WaterPistoles! Link to post Share on other sites
packsaddle 753 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 JoeBob, Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology has the largest collection of bird sounds in the world and you can listen to them for free through this website: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/page.aspx?pid=1676http://www.birds.cornell.edu/page.aspx?pid=1676 Under the advanced search you can search by state or even down to the county level. They have over 160,000 recordings. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
perdidochas 658 Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Calico - Thx I was looking at the Audubon but was not sure that I could focus it to local birds that the boys might see. I'm liking the 'App' concept while teaching 'Nature MB' this summer. Makes them use their screens for something besides Halo IV, Revenge of the WaterPistoles! You can use the Audubon app to focus on birds in your state only. I like the audubon app for birds. Not so fond of the other versions. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
TAHAWK 1420 Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 I told them they had discretion and that the objective was a reasonable challenge that would vary for the respective Scout. Thank you all for your input. Link to post Share on other sites
Horizon 97 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 JoeBob, Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology has the largest collection of bird sounds in the world and you can listen to them for free through this website: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/page.aspx?pid=1676http://www.birds.cornell.edu/page.aspx?pid=1676 Under the advanced search you can search by state or even down to the county level. They have over 160,000 recordings. I have been known to play that disc on long drives to the campground. I have two hard-core birders in my Troop. They are both now patrol leaders, and when they sign off for 10 animals - I know that it is specific! Link to post Share on other sites
packsaddle 753 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 I have to admit, playing those sounds on long drives is pretty 'hard core', lol. I'll consider doing that in the future as well. Link to post Share on other sites
Gone 435 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 That's one way to keep kids out of your vehicle. Link to post Share on other sites
packsaddle 753 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 My favorite way to accomplish that is to play Wagner operas. And the best part of it is that I actually enjoy those. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now