IT'S A HEADS UP TO BIRD-WATCHING THROUGH HANDS-ON COURSE, BIOLA BIOLOGY PROFESSOR HOPES TO INCREASE INTEREST.Byline: Keith Lair Staff Writer CLAREMONT - A male golfinch sat on a branch at the Rancho Santa Ana Santa Ana, city, El Salvador Santa Ana (sän'tä ä`nä), city (1993 pop. 129,873), W El Salvador. It is the second largest city in the country and the commercial and processing center for a sugarcane, coffee, and cattle region. Botanical Garden botanical garden, public place in which plants are grown both for display and for scientific study. An arboretum is a botanical garden devoted chiefly to the growing of woody plants. in Claremont. Noticing the bird lacked its bright orange plumage plumage, of birds: see feathers. , Biola University History Originally located in downtown Los Angeles at the corner of Sixth St. and Hope St., the university moved south to its present location in suburban La Mirada, California, in 1959. biology professor Dr. Rayfe Payne asked, ``Why?'' Rick Boone suggested the bird was neglecting its berry diet. Courtney Russell said the bird will have a lonely life because the lack of color not of the white race; - commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. See also: Color will not attract prospective mates. These are the observations one will hear when hanging out with bird watchers, who make their hobby an exact science. Payne's students at Biola are quickly catching on to the nuances of bird watching Bird Watching is a British magazine for birders. The current editor is Kevin Wilmot. External Links
``The whole idea of the class is to get people outside and to wake up their ears and eyes,'' said the effervescent ef·fer·vesce intr.v. ef·fer·vesced, ef·fer·vesc·ing, ef·fer·vesc·es 1. To emit small bubbles of gas, as a carbonated or fermenting liquid. 2. To escape from a liquid as bubbles; bubble up. 3. Payne, who has taught the class for 25 years. Payne says the class teaches students to look brightly at the world. ``To often, I see students walk across campus with their heads down,'' he said. If Payne had done that six years ago, he would have missed a northern wheateater on campus - the first time the bird, which favors tundra, had been seen in California. ``The whole idea is to walk looking around at the world,'' he said. ``To see the great creations of nature. To realize there are places in the city where you can see wildlife.'' This trip resulted in 24 finds, including three new species: a hooded oriole, California quail and a ringlet. Also spied were plenty of Anna's hummingbirds, California and spotted towhees, yellow-rumped warblers, American robins, red-tailed hawks, mourning doves, western scrub jays and purple finches. Payne admits the class, which includes a weekly field trip and classroom time, is one of his favorites. He became hooked on bird watching while working on his Master's thesis on parasites of Nebraskan ducks. He's spied more than 700 birds in the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. . ``You just have to love getting outdoors,'' he said. Russell, a 21-year-old junior, enrolled in the class to complete a science requirement. But she says her ulterior motive was to get outdoors, something she frequently did with her father when they lived in Texas. ``It's more fun because Rayfe loves doing this,'' she said. ``The students get very excited because they can tell the difference. He's having fun, we're having fun and he's learning with us.'' Jennifer Vargas, a junior from La Habra, agreed. ``You can tell he loves what he does and that makes it easy to learn,'' she said. A male hummingbird sat atop a shrub and strutted its bright magenta belly. ``Ooooohhhhh!'' students exclaimed. ``This is like a fireworks fireworks: see pyrotechnics. fireworks Explosives or combustibles used for display. Of ancient Chinese origin, fireworks evidently developed out of military rockets and explosive missiles and accompanied the spread of military explosives westward to show,'' said Boone, who graduated from Biola last year but returned with his wife, June, specifically to take this class. They've been to places such as the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, Chantry Flats, Bolsa Chica and Eaton Canyon in search of birds. The essence of the class, Payne explained, is not necessarily bird watching but to persevere through life's struggles. ``What bird watching teaches you is patience,'' Payne said. ``You may see a bird for only a second and you have to try and identify it. You have to be patient to find it. It's great serendipity serendipity happy finding of an unexpected object or solution while searching for something else. . Birds surprise you. Nothing's predictable. That's why we get birds that are not supposed to be in California. That's nature.'' The subtle lesson was taught while trying to determine if a bird was a ringlet or Bell's vireo vireo, small, migratory songbird of the New World. Some species nest in the United States, but the majority are tropical. Vireos (also called greenlets) range from 4 to 6 1/2 in. (10.2–16. by the curvature of the bird's bill. The class waited quietly for 15 minutes for the bird to return. ``See?'' Payne said. ``You just have to be patient.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) A hummingbird takes a drink from in the backyard of a home in Scottsdale, Ariz. N. Scott Trimble/Associated Press |
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