Enjoy a book safely at home during the novel coronavirus pandemic to celebrate Pride Month! Also, UI Pride 2020 offers Pride at Home kits containing fun activities to do at home!
Students, staff, and faculty may request that a print book from the University of Iowa Libraries be mailed to their residence. To make the request, sign into InfoHawk+ using your HawkID, find the book, and choose “Request Physical Item.” You can find more books than shown in the Virtual Book Display in InfoHawk+ by searching on keywords in InfoHawk+ such as gays, lesbians, transgender, biography, fiction, essays, history, or literature. If you would like assistance, contact Laurie Neuerburg (laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu).
In his newest book, Birdsong for the Curious Naturalist, Donald Kroodsma invites us to listen to bird sound not simply to make a quick species identification, but to listen “for deeper understanding of each singing bird,” encouraging us to think scientifically about birds through their songs by posing our own questions about the behavior we observe. He also invites us to listen the same way we would listen to a musical performance, for simple appreciation.
Listening with discrimination to all aspects of how birds are communicating can become an adventure as you learn to listen for variation. The use of sound spectrograms or sonograms as described in the previous post on bird sound can help immensely, as they provide high definition rendering of all parts of a bird song or call, including those that might otherwise be missed by the ear in real time. It’s like hearing with your eyes.
It is possible to enjoy and begin thinking about birdsong without ever laying sight on the bird singing. But hearing a bird’s song is often the easiest way to locate it and then track its behavior.
One of the most delightful birds to listen to is Iowa’s state bird, the American Goldfinch. It is most identifiable by its flight call, but also has song consisting of highly variable series of high-pitched warbles. If you hear the flight call, look up to locate it weaving through the air or perched atop a tree ready to take off. Goldfinches are able to learn new songs as adults.
One of the most entertaining birds to listen to is the Gray Catbird. Although named for its “mewing” sound, the Gray Catbird is also a mimic, and is able to imitate the sounds of many other birds, often in what sounds like a chaotic mix tape of different species.
Two species frequently heard in wooded habitats are the Great crested Flycatcher, with its intermittent outbursts of “breet” or “weep” while lurking in the canopy, and the Red-eyed Vireo, whose song has a slow, rhythmic cadence.
If you live outside the Iowa City area and wish to locate good places to encounter birds, eBird is a useful website for locating so-called hotspots, as is the Iowa Ornithologists Union.
Authoritative information on any bird species, including in-depth treatment of sounds and vocal behavior, can be found in World of Birds (HawkID required for login). For free access to information on particular bird species, check out either Audubon Guide to North American Birds or All about Birds.
If you have questions about bird sounds, locating specific places to find birds of interest, or other questions about bird biology, don’t hesitate to contact us at the Sciences Library.
Thank you to Kai Weatherman for writing this wonderful post and taking the beautiful photos!
All are welcome to join the Sciences Library for Trivia Night at 5 PM central on Fridays through July 10th! We will use Zoom and Kahoot, so join Zoom on your computer to see the trivia questions and use the browser on your smartphone to input your answers. We will do two rounds of questions and give away two prizes per evening. All are eligible to win the prize and the winning person in each round will receive a prize in the mail! Winner must provide name and mailing address to receive the prize. Register at https://uiowa.libwizard.com/f/uiscilibtrivia to receive the Zoom link. The Zoom link will be the same from week to week, so you only need to register one time. This is a free event and open to the public.
There will be two rounds of trivia each evening. The first round of trivia will be general questions. The second round will have a theme: animals on June 12, myths on June 19, movies on June 26, food on July 3, and fantasy on July 10.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Laurie Neuerburg in advance at 319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu.
The pandemic has found some of us out taking more walks than usual. In some places human noise has subsided and it’s possible to hear more nonhuman sound than usual. Perhaps you’re hearing more bird sounds and wonder what they are.
Donald Kroodsma, an authority on bird vocal behavior, believes that “seeing bird sounds” is key to comprehending them. He’s referring to sound spectrograms, which chart pitch against time, sort of like a musical score. Cornell Lab of Ornithology provides a fun tutorial on birdsong spectrograms in its new interactive learning game, Birdsong Hero.
Earbirding offers more detail on how to visualize sounds and how to describe them in words, based on the Peterson Field Guide to Birds Sounds of Eastern North America (e-book requires HawkID login). The Field Guide even has a visual index that can be used to look up bird sounds, once you’re firmly grounded in this method of bird sound description.
But if you’d just like to dive into bird sounds that you’re likely to hear in Iowa at this time of year, you can start below with links from bird species to audio recordings and spectrograms available from the massive multimedia collection of the Macaulay Library.
The distinctive song of this year-round resident is usually a series of whistled couplets or triplets repeated 3 to 5 times. The Carolina Wren also has another unique sound described as a liquid trill.
Song consists of a series of single syllabled whistles or a whistled couplet, repeated one to several times. Mnemonic: “peer peer peer” or “peter peter peter.”
In honor of April representing Sexual Assault Activism Month, the University of Iowa Libraries and the Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP) came together to offer you a virtual library. There you can find a reading list of ebooks pertaining to sexual assault on college campuses in addition to a list of publications targeted toward a professional audience. Many more books on sexual assault are available in InfoHawk+. Try searching on terms such as rape; intimate partner violence; sexual harassment of women; or, sexual abuse victims. Talk with a librarian by chat, email, phone, or through a virtual consultation if you would like help finding more materials.
RVAP provides free, confidential and trauma-informed services to anyone directly or indirectly impacted by sexual violence in Cedar, Des Moines, Henry, Iowa, Johnson, Lee, Washington, and Van Buren counties. Anyone includes but is not limited to individuals of any age, gender, identity, culture, etc. Sexual violence is any sexual act committed against someone without that person’s freely given consent. This includes but is not limited to rape, sexual assault, stalking, harassment, sexual exploitation, etc.
Though Sexual Assault Activism Month is coming to a close, RVAP‘s services and the RVAP virtual library will continue to be here for you.
Saturday, April 25 is National DNA Day, which commemorates the 1953 publication in the journal Nature of scientific papers by James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin, and colleagues that described the molecular structure of DNA. National DNA Day, which was first celebrated in 2003 by the National Human Genome Research Institute, also marked the virtual completion of the Human Genome Project in April of that year.
Understanding the molecular structure of DNA and how it functions in living cells has been central to pursuits in the biological and biomedical sciences ever since, paving the way for the development of such innovations as genomesequencing. Such methods subsequently developed in molecular biology play a vital role in all four core areas of research and study in the UI Department of Biology. The Iowa Institute of Human Genetics and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics are but two additional examples of how this expertise is advanced at the University of Iowa.
In recent years the use of commercial personal DNA testing for purposes of genealogy has become very popular. UI Department of Biology Associate Professor Bryant McAllister has leveraged the popularity of these tests to create a learning opportunity for both his students as well as the general public by establishing the Personal Genome Learning Center, which conducts public outreach through the DNA Interest Group – Iowa City to make the science behind these DNA tests, as well as the results of the tests themselves, more comprehensible.
The current coronavirus pandemic crisis underscores the significance of this landmark achievement. Without understanding the structure of DNA, which encodes genetic information key to the formation of all living organisms, it would not be possible to perform the genome sequencing necessary to unambiguously characterize the SARS-Co-V-2 virus nor allow the precision testing for its presence in infected individuals. (It should be noted that although viruses are not considered alive, they do replicate with either DNA or, in the case of the coronavirus, RNA.) COVID 19 presents a monumental challenge for societies around the globe. Imagine facing this challenge in the dark without the proper understanding and tools that have taken decades to develop since the structure of DNA was first established.
After years of planning, the renovation of the University of Iowa Sciences Library has begun. Closure of the building due to the coronavirus pandemic did not prevent the Sciences Library’s first step of the renovation, a fresh coat of paint! The next steps in the renovation are new carpeting and furniture. We cannot wait to welcome Hawkeyes back to the Sciences Library and see you here again when it is safe! Until then, the Sciences Library staff is here to help you virtually. Watch the video “How to Remotely Access the University of Iowa Sciences Library” on YouTube, email us (lib-sciences@uiowa.edu) any time, or live chat with us Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM.
Hawkeyes, join the Sciences Library for Trivia Night on Fridays, April 24th to July 10th at 5 PM! The trivia will be led by student emcees Madison and Mason. The questions will be from various subjects such as science, arts & literature, history, pop culture, and sports. We will use Zoom and Kahoot, so join Zoom on your computer to see the trivia questions and use the browser on your smartphone to input your answers. We will do two rounds of questions and give away two vacuum insulated, stainless steel water bottles per evening! The winning Hawkeye student in each round will receive a water bottle in the mail! Register at https://uiowa.libwizard.com/f/trivia to receive the Zoom link. The Zoom link will be the same from week to week, so you only need to register one time. This is a free event.
Only University of Iowa students are eligible to win the prize. Winner must provide mailing address to receive the prize. All University of Iowa students faculty and staff are invited to play!
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Laurie Neuerburg in advance at 319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu.
Many Iowans are aware of the Bald Eagles that nest in Decorah. But believe it or not there is an active eagle’s nest only a stone’s throw away from the University of Iowa main campus. And it is so accessible to viewing that most in the area will never have a better opportunity to view one up close. The nest site is in a tall cottonwood tree behind the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. Simply take the paved path that runs behind the Conference Center, locate the “Prairie Breeze Bench” sculpture, and look toward the Iowa River. You can’t miss it.
For the time being you will likely see the white head of an adult eagle protruding above the rim of the nest, sitting quietly, keeping the young eaglets warm, and possibly watching you watching them. If you’re lucky, you might catch one of the adult pair return from a successful hunt. Then it’s feeding time for the eaglets. It will be a few weeks before the eaglets are large enough to be visible from the path. But once they reach the juvenile stage, get ready for a spectacular display of wing stretching prior to fledging.
During this time of social distancing, we encourage you to take the opportunity step out for some fresh air and take advantage of a rare opportunity to connect with Iowa wildlife, while keeping a 6 foot minimum distance between you and others on the path.
When viewing the eagles, please take care to avoid distressing them, particularly at this sensitive stage, by maintaining a healthy distance. Iowa DNR recommends a minimum distance of 400 yards. But if you stay on the path, all should be well, since the eagles are already accustomed to passersby on that path.
For more information on Bald Eagles, Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds website is a fine place to start. University of Iowa students, faculty, and staff have subscription access to Birds of the World, which provides in-depth, research level information.
N.B.: Bring a pair of binoculars for best viewing.
Thank you to Kai Weatherman for writing this post!
Hawkeyes, join the Sciences Library for Trivia Night on Friday, April 17 at 5 PM! The trivia will be led by student emcees Madison and Mason. The categories will be science, arts & literature, history, pop culture, and sports. We will use Zoom and Kahoot, so join Zoom on your computer to see the trivia questions and use the browser on your smartphone to input your answers. The winning Hawkeye student will receive a vacuum insulated, stainless steel water bottle in the mail! Register at https://uiowa.libwizard.com/f/trivia to receive the Zoom link. This is a free event.
Only University of Iowa students are eligible to win the prize. Winner must provide mailing address to receive the prize. All University of Iowa students faculty and staff are invited to play!
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Laurie Neuerburg in advance at 319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu.