Friday, December 29, 2017

Episode 401 (1-1-18): Diving into 2018 with "Driving Rain" by Chamomile and Whiskey


CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:33).

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 12-29-17.


TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO


From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 1, 2018.

MUSIC - ~9 sec

This week, we open 2018 with a Virginia band’s song that shows the versatility of water images in music, poetry, and human emotions.  Have a listen for about 50 seconds.

MUSIC - ~49 sec

You’ve been listening to part of “Driving Rain,” by the Nelson County- and Charlottesville-based band Chamomile and Whiskey, on the 2012 album “The Barn Sessions,” from County Wide records.  Water’s vast and vital connections to human affairs make it a versatile and powerful source of literary images, from the familiar reality of a rain-streaked window pane, to mythological siren-caused shipwrecks.

With a new year dawning, water images and sayings can help us imagine what that year might bring: Smooth sailing or rough seas?  Easily navigable channels or uncharted passages?  Droughts or deluges of good news and human progress?  A year from now we’ll know what phrases fit 2018.  But we already know that water—literally and figuratively—will be part of the year’s story.

Thanks to Chamomile and Whiskey for permission to use this week’s music, and for a great start to 2018, let’s hear another high-energy, instrumental excerpt from “Driving Rain.”

MUSIC - ~15 sec

SHIP’S BELL

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This episode is an updated re-do of Episode 194, 12-30-13; that episode has been archived.

“Driving Rain” and “The Barn Sessions” are copyright by Chamomile and Whiskey and by County Wide Records, used with permission of Chamomile and Whiskey.  More information about Chamomile and Whiskey is available online at http://www.chamomileandwhiskey.com/, and information about Charlottesville-based County Wide records is available online at http://countywidemusic.worldsecuresystems.com/.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com.

PHOTO

A metaphor for the passage of 2017 into 2018: Passage Creek in Warren County, Va., August 22, 2016.

SOURCES USED FOR AUDIO AND OFFERING MORE INFORMATION


U.S. Department of State/Doug Thompson, “ShareAmerica/Want to improve your English? Test the waters with these handy phrases,” March 23, 2016, online at https://share.america.gov/7-water-related-american-idioms/.

The Free Dictionary by Farlex, “Idioms/Water,” online at https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/water.

UK Essays, “Sea And Water Imagery English Literature Essay,” November 2013, online at https://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-literature/sea-and-water-imagery-english-literature-essay.php?cref=1.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).

Other episodes for a coming New Year are the following:
For 2013Episode 142, 12/31/12: Encore of John McCutcheon’s “Water from Another Time”;
For 2014Episode 195, 1/6/14: Wading into the New Year, the New River, and Water Thermodynamics;
For 2016Episode 296, 12/28/15: Setting a Course for 2016 with “On a Ship” by Kat Mills.
For 2017Episode 349, 1-2-17: Water for a World of New Years, Featuring “New Year’s Water” by Torrin Hallett.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

The episode may help with Virginia 2013 Music SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2010 English SOLs:
Reading Theme
8.5, 9.4, 10.4, 11.4 – symbols, imagery, figurative language, and other literary devices.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Following are links to previous Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.
Episode 249 (1-19-15) – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 250 (1-26-15) – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 255 (3-2-15) – on density, for 5th and 6th grade;
Episode 282 (9-21-15) – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten;
Episode 309 (3-28-16) – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade;
Episode 332 (9-12-16) – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Episode 400 (12-25-17): A Year of Virginia Water Sounds and Music—2017 Edition


CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:05).

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 12-22-17.


TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO


From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of December 25, 2017.

This week, we look back on 2017 with a medley of mystery sounds.  Have a listen for about 75 seconds, and see if you can identify these sounds from the past year of Virginia Water Radio.

SOUNDS - ~73 sec

If you guessed all these, you’re the ace of aquatics in 2017!  The sounds were Fish Crows; the Eastern Spadefoot, a kind of amphibian; a drinking-water clinic by the Virginia Household Water Quality Program; hail; watershed terms called out by sixth-graders; mayfly names called out by high-schoolers; cloud types called out by adults; Tingler’s Mill in Paint Bank; a fire-hydrant during a pressure test; and boaters at midnight on the New River, accompanied by a Great Blue Heron call.

Thanks to Lang Elliott for the Fish Crow sounds, and to Mr. Elliott and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for the Eastern Spadefoot sound.

This week marks the 400th episode of Virginia Water Radio, completing its eighth year.  With luck and the continued assistance of many collaborators, we’ll continue to bring you sounds of water-related science, issues, events, organizations, and creatures.

We close out 2017 with a 60-second sample of music heard on Virginia Water Radio this year.  Here are short excerpts of “Cold Frosty Morn’,” performed by New Standard; “Tropical Tantrum,” by Torrin Hallett; “Hail Improvisation,” by Simon Fass; and “See What I Have Done,” by Sweet Chalybeate. Thanks to these musicians for permission to use these pieces.  And to 2017: so long—soon—and thanks for the water!

MUSIC – ~57 sec

SHIP’S BELL

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.   In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.

The sound of the Fish Crow was taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott, whose work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/.  This sound was used in Episode 352, 1-23-17.

The sound of the Eastern Spadefoot was taken from “The Calls of Virginia Frogs and Toads” CD, copyright 2008 by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and Lang Elliott/NatureSoundStudio, used with permission.  For more information on the CD, see https://www3.dgif.virginia.gov/estore/proddetail.asp?prod=VW252.  This sound was used in Episode 357, 2-27-17.

The sounds of a Virginia Household Water Quality drinking-water clinic were recorded on March 20, 2017, at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.  These sounds were used in Episode 361, 3-27-17.

The sound of hail was recorded on March 18, 2017, in Blacksburg.  This sound was used in Episode 362, 4-3-17.

The watershed terms were called out by sixth-grade students from Christiansburg Middle School in Christiansburg, Va., on April 12, 2017, during Stormwater Education Day.  These sounds were used in Episode 365, 4-24-17.

The names of mayflies were recorded on March 31, 2017, at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg by visiting students from Patrick County High School in Stuart, Va.  These sounds were part of Episode 367, 5-8-17.

The cloud types were recorded on July 11, 2017, in Blacksburg by friends of Virginia Water Radio.  These sounds were used in Episode 377, 7-17-17.

The sound of the Tingler’s Mill at Paint Bank, Va., was recorded on September 4, 2017.  This sound was used in Episode 386, 9-18-17.

The fire hydrant pressure-test sound was recorded on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg on March 10, 2017.   This sound was used in Episode 389, 10-9-17.

The sounds of boaters and a Great Blue Heron on the New River near midnight were recorded on August 6, 2017, at the Whitethorn public boat launch in Montgomery County.  These sounds were used in Episode 381, 8-14-17.

The performance of “Cold Frosty Morn’” heard here is copyright by New Standard, from the 2016 album “Bluegrass,” used with permission.  More information about New Standard is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com.  This music was used in Episode 387, 9-25-17.

“Tropical Tantrum,” composed for Virginia Water Radio, is copyright 2017 by Torrin Hallett, used with permission.  More information about Mr. Hallett is available at his Web site, http://www.torrinjhallett.com/.  The music was used in Episode 369, 5-22-17.

“Hail Improvisation” was created March 23, 2017, by Simon Fass in a hammered-dulcimer music lesson with Timothy Seaman (online at http://timothyseaman.com/en/); used with permission.  At the time, Simon was a third-grader in Williamsburg, Va.  This music was used in Episode 362, 4-3-17.

“See What I Have Done” is copyright by Sweet Chalybeate, used with permission. More information on Sweet Chalybeate is available online at http://www.sweetchalybeate.com/.  This music was used in Episode 379, 7-31-17.

PHOTOS
From Episode 352, 1-23-17: Fish Crow painting done in the 1830s by John James Audubon in Birds of America (plate CXLVI [146]), as reprinted in 1985 by Abbeville Press, New York. Photos taken January 23, 2017, from the reprint copy (no. 6 of 350 copies printed in 1985) owned by Special Collections of Virginia Tech Libraries. Virginia Water Radio thanks Special Collections for permission to photograph their copy and for their assistance.
From Episode 362, 4-3-17: Clouds immediately after a short hailstorm in Blacksburg, Va., March 18, 2017, about 6 p.m.

From Episode 386, 9-18-17: Tingler’s Mill restored wheel and building on Potts Creek in Paint Bank, Va. (Craig County), Sep. 4, 2017.
From Episode 389, 10-9-17: Fire-hydrant pressure testing by a staff member of the Virginia Tech Facilities Department on the campus in Blacksburg, March 10, 2017. The test was to see whether sprinklers in a nearby building would have enough pressure to function in the case of the hydrant being used fully during a fire.
 
RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES
All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).

Previous “year of sounds/music” episodes are the following:
2016 – Episode 348, 12/26/16;
2015 – Episode 295, 12/21/15;
2014 – Episode 246, 12/29/14;
2013 – Episode 193, 12/23/13;
2012 – Episode 141, 12/17/12.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs)

This episode may help with Virginia 2013 Music SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

The episodes listed and hyperlinked above under “Audio Notes and Acknowledgments” may help with various SOLs in English, Music, Science, and Social Studies.  For specific SOLs, please see the online show notes for each episode.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Episode 399 (12-18-17): Whales in Song, Sound, and Migration Past Virginia


CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:16).

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 12-15-17.


TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of December 18, 2017.

MUSIC – ~ 9 sec

This week, we’re using that music and two mystery sounds to introduce a group of large mammals that migrate from time to time past Virginia’s coastline. Have a listen for about for about 45 seconds and see if you can guess the subject of the music, and what’s making the swishing sounds and strange call. And here’s a hint: take a deep breath, sing a song, and think big!

MUSIC - ~ 27 sec

SOUNDS - ~19 sec

If you guessed whales, you’re right!  You heard part of of “Leviathan,” by John McCutcheon and Bob Read, on the 2001 album “Supper’s on the Table…Everybody Come In,” from Rounder Records.  The sounds you heard were, first, the spouting that occurs when resurfacing whales breathe through their blowhole, which is a nostril on top of their head; and second, a Humpback Whale song for breeding or other communication.

This time of year—from December to about mid-March—sightings of migrating whales, such as Fin and Humpback whales, are a hoped-for prize of wildlife-watching cruises that run out of Virginia Beach.  At least 14 species of whales are known to occur in the waters off Virginia’s coast—some regularly during migrations, others only occasionally.  Another four to six species commonly called whales but actually categorized as dolphins—such as Killer Whales—have also been recorded from Virginia waters.

Six of the whale species known from Virginia waters are on the federal Endangered Species List.  Collectively worldwide, whales face a number of dangers, including accidental ship strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, underwater noise, chemical pollution, marine debris, and the whaling that continues in a few countries.

Thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and to the National Park Service for making this week’s sounds available for public use.  Thanks also to Appalseed Productions for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Leviathan.”

MUSIC - ~ 16 sec

SHIP’S BELL

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This episode revises and updates Episode 92 (12-12-11); that episode has been archived.

“Leviathan” from the 2001 album “Supper’s on the Table…Everybody Come In!” is copyright by John McCutcheon and Rounder Records, used with permission.   More information about John McCutcheon is available online at https://www.folkmusic.com/.

The whale spouting sound was taken from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife National Digital Library, http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/ (for sound clips specifically, see http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/search/searchterm/%28mp3%29).

The Humpback Whale sound was taken from a National Park Service recording (“Humpback Whales Song 2”) made available for public use on the “Community Audio” page of the Internet Archive Web site, at http://www.archive.org/details/HumpbackWhalesSongsSoundsVocalizations.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com.

PHOTOS
Humpback Whale. Photo by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accessed online at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/humpback-whale.html.
Northern Right Whale spouting. Photo by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), taken about 2007, location not identified. Accessed from the NOAA Photo Library, online at https://www.flickr.com/photos/51647007@N08/5277845710/.
Northern Right Whale entangled in fishing gear. Photo by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Regional Office, taken May 20, 2003, location not indicated. Accessed from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Photo Library, online at https://www.flickr.com/photos/51647007@N08/11468611605/.

EXTRA FACTS ABOUT WHALES FOUND IN VIRGINIA WATERS


Following a list of the whale species and of dolphin species commonly referred to as whales that ahve been recorded from Virginia waters, according to the following three sources:

1. Robert A. Blaylock, The Marine Mammals of Virginia (with notes on identification and natural history), Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 1985; online (as a PDF) at http://nsgd.gso.uri.edu/vsgcp/vsgcpe85001.pdf.

2. Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, “Virginia Strandings,” online at https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/conserve/outreach-events; on this page is a link to “Virginia Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Species List” (direct link is https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/conserve/Documents/Virginia-MM-ST-Species-Lists.pdf).

3. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Fish and Wildlife Information Service/Species Information,” online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/?Menu=Home.Species+Information; use this link for whales.

The numbers after the species name in the list indicate which one(s) of the each of the three sources included that species.

Species currently categorized by scientists as part of whale families
Antillean Beaked (or Gervais’ Beaked) Whale – 1, 2, 3
Blue Whale – 1, 3
Bryde’s (or Eden’s) Whale (possibly two separate species) – 1, 2, 3
Dense-beaked (or Blainvilles Beaked) Whale – 1, 2, 3
Dwarf Sperm Whale – 1, 2, 3
Fin (or Finback) Whale – 1, 2, 3
Goose-beaked Whale – 1, 3
Humpback Whale – 1, 2, 3
Minke Whale – 1, 2, 3
Northern Right (or North Atlantic Right) Whale – 1, 2, 3
Pygmy Sperm Whale – 1, 2, 3
Sei Whale – 1, 2, 3
Sperm Whale – 1, 2, 3
True’s Beaked Whale – 1, 2, 3

Species currently categorized by scientists as part of dolphin family
Atlantic Pilot (or Long-finned Pilot) Whale – 1, 2, 3
False Killer Whale – 3
Killer Whale (or Orca) – 3
Melonheaded Whale – 2
Pygmy Killer Whale – 2
Short-finned Pilot Whale – 1, 2, 3

SOURCES USED FOR AUDIO AND OFFERING MORE INFORMATION

Robert A. Blaylock, The Marine Mammals of Virginia (with notes on identification and natural history), by Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 1985; online at http://nsgd.gso.uri.edu/vsgcp/vsgcpe85001.pdf.

International Whaling Commission, “Environmental Concerns,” online at https://iwc.int/environment.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Marine Mammals/Whales,” online at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/#whales.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Bryde’s Whale (Balaenoptera edeni),” online at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/brydes-whale.html.

National Park Service, “Humpback Whales Songs Sounds Vocalizations,” online at https://archive.org/details/HumpbackWhalesSongsSoundsVocalizations/Humpback_whale_song_3.mp3.

PBS Nature, “Humpback Whales—Songs of the Sea,” 11/3/01, online at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/humpback-whales-song-of-the-sea/2874/.

Rudee Tours, “Wildlife Watching—Whale Cruises—Virginia Beach,” online at https://www.rudeetours.com/tours-cruises/winter-wildlife-cruises/.

Karen Terwilliger and John Tate, A Guide to Endangered and Threatened Species in Virginia, McDonald and Woodward, Blacksburg, Va., 1995.

U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, “Oil and Gas Development and Marine Mammals,” online at https://www.mmc.gov/priority-topics/offshore-energy-development-and-marine-mammals/offshore-oil-and-gas-development-and-marine-mammals/.

Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, “Boat Trips,” online at https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/learn/boat-trips.

Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, “Documenting Whale Migration Off Virginia’s Coast,” online at https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/conserve/research-projects.

Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, “Virginia Strandings,” online at https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/conserve/outreach-events.  On this page is a link to “Virginia Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Species List”; direct link is https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/conserve/Documents/Virginia-MM-ST-Species-Lists.pdf).

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Fish and Wildlife Information Service/Species Information,” online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/?Menu=Home.Species+Information.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Mammals” subject category. Episode 399 (replacing Episode 92) is the only episode so far on whales.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

The episode may help with Virginia 2013 Music SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

This episode may also help with the following Virginia 2010 Science SOLs:

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 - Va. natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.
6.9 – public policy decisions related to the environment (including resource management and conservation, land use decision, hazard mitigation, cost/benefit assessments).

Grades K-6 Life Processes Theme
3.4 - behavioral and physiological adaptations.

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
2.5 - living things as part of a system, including habitats.
3.5 - food webs.
3.6 - ecosystems, communities, populations, shared resources.
4.5 - ecosystem interactions and human influences on ecosystem.

Life Science Course
LS.8 - community and population interactions, including food webs, niches, symbiotic relationships.
LS.9 - adaptations for particular ecosystems’ biotic and abiotic factors, including characteristics of land, marine, and freshwater environments.
LS.10 - changes over time in ecosystems, communities, and populations, and factors affecting those changes, including climate changes and catastrophic disturbances.
LS.11 - relationships between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.

Biology Course
BIO.8 - dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2015 Social Studies SOLs:

Grades K-6 Economics Theme
3.8 – understanding of cultures and of how natural, human, and capital resources are used for goods and services.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.6 – government at the national level.
CE.10 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including climate, weather, and how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.3 - how regional landscapes reflect the physical environment and the cultural characteristics of their inhabitants.

Government Course
GOVT.7 – national government organization and powers.
GOVT.9 – public policy process at local, state, and national levels.
GOVT.15 – role of government in Va. and U.S. economies, including examining environmental issues and property rights.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Following are links to previous Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.
Episode 249 (1-19-15) – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 250 (1-26-15) – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 255 (3-2-15) – on density, for 5th and 6th grade;
Episode 282 (9-21-15) – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten;
Episode 309 (3-28-16) – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade;
Episode 332 (9-12-16) – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.

Monday, December 11, 2017

Episode 398 (12-11-17): The Green and Blue of Teal


CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:09).

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 12-8-17.


TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of December 11, 2017.

MUSIC – ~9 sec

That’s the tune of “Ducks on the Pond,” attributed to the late Henry Reed, a traditional musician who lived in Giles County, Va., and performed here by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg.  The music sets the stage for this week’s mystery sound from a familiar duck on Virginia’s wintertime ponds and other waters.  Have a listen for about 10 seconds and see if you can guess what’s making this descending series of quacks.  And here’s a hint: the color of money will help you wing this deal.

SOUND - ~10 sec

If you guessed a Green-winged Teal, you’re right!  The Green-winged Teal is one of two teal species found in Virginia—the other is the Blue-winged.  According to the Virginia Deparment of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Green-winged is a common coastal Virginia winter resident, and an occasional breeding-season resident, while the Blue-winged sometimes breeds along Virginia’s coast but is more commonly seen during migration.  Both these teal are found on ponds, lakes, wetlands, and estuaries, including the Chesapeake Bay.

The names green-winged and blue-winged refer to the colored, iridescent feathers of the birds’ speculum, a rectangular area on their wings’ trailing edge, more noticeable when the birds are flying.  Of the Blue-winged Teal, John James Audubon in the 1800s wrote that “When flying in flocks in clear sunny weather, the blue of their wings glistens like polished steel.”  A distinctively-colored speculum is charactistic of the sub-family of waterfowl that includes teal along with Mallards, the Wood Duck, and several other familiar species.  Teal and related ducks are known as surface-feeders, or dabblers, because of their habit of tipping up their tail and stretching their necks underwater—but not diving—to feed on vegetation or small animals.  The Green-winged Teal is the smallest dabbler in North America, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in motion.  Again quoting Audubon: “On land, the Green-wing moves with…ease and grace; it can run at a good rate, without entangling its webbed feet; on the water, also, it moves with great ease…[and]…[o]n wing it has no rivals among ducks.”

Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use this week’s sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs.  Thanks also to Timothy Seaman for this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Ducks on the Pond.”

MUSIC - ~12 sec

SHIP’S BELL

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The sounds of the Green-winged Teal were taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott, whose work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/.

The version of “Ducks on the Pond” heard in this episode is by Timothy Seaman, from the 2004 album “Virginia Wildlife,” on Pine Wind Records, used with permission; that album was done in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.  More information about Timothy Seaman is available online at http://timothyseaman.com/en/.

“Ducks on the Pond” is attributed to Henry Reed (1884-1968), a native of West Virginia but a long-time resident of Glen Lyn in Giles County, Virginia; more information about Henry Reed is available online at http://www.henryreed.org/.   Information on the tune is available from The Traditional Tune Archive, online at http://www.tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Ducks_on_the_Pond.  A June 1966 recording by Alan Jabbour of the tune being played by Mr. Reed is available from the Library of Congress, online at https://www.loc.gov/item/afcreed000072/.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.

IMAGES
 
Blue-winged Teal (upper) and Green-winged Teal (lower) paintings originally published between 1827 and 1838 by John James Audubon in Birds of America (plates 313 [CCCXIII] and 228 [CCXXVIII], respectively), as reprinted in 1985 by Abbeville Press, New York.  Photo taken December 10, 2017, from the reprint copy (no. 6 of 350 copies printed in 1985) owned by Special Collections of Virginia Tech Libraries.  Virginia Water Radio thanks Special Collections for permission to photograph their copy and for their assistance. Information about Birds of America is available from the National Audubon Society, online at http://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america.

Blue-winged Teal at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming in June 2015.  Photo by Tom Koerner, made available for public use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov, accessed 12/11/17; direct link is http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/natdiglib/id/18484/rec/14.
Green-winged Teal at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming in March 2015.  Photo by Tom Koerner, made available for public use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov, accessed 12/11/17; direct link is http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/natdiglib/id/18507/rec/4.

EXTRA FACTS ABOUT TEAL IN VIRGINIA

On Blue-winged Teal

From the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Fish and Wildlife Information Service/Blue-winged Teal,” online at http://vafwis.org/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040057&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=17508.

General Occurrence Comments: On the Coastal Plain it is a common transient in the spring and fall, and a rare and irregular winter resident mostly in the extreme southeast.   It is a locally uncommon summer (end of April-end of August) resident along the coast.  It is rare elsewhere.  In the Piedmont it is an uncommon transient in spring and fall, and a rare summer and winter visitor.  In the Mountains and Valleys it is an uncommon transient in spring and fall, and a rare summer and winter visitor. ... Habitat association: This species prefers shorelines to open water and also calm waters or sluggish currents to fast water; in Chesapeake Bay, preferred wintering habitat is brackish estuarine bay marshes.  Nesting habitat is used most extensively in the Chesapeake Bay area consists of salt-marsh cordgrass (Spartina) meadows with adjoining tidal ponds or creeks.  Blue-winged teal typically selects the tallest, most dense herbaceons vegetation available for nesting. … Food habits: The diet is 25% animal matter and 75% vegetable.  Half of the animal diet is snails and other molluscs.”

On Green-winged Teal

From the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Fish and Wildlife Information Service/Green-winged Teal,” online at http://vafwis.org/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040056&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=17508.

General Occurrence Comments: This is a common transient and winter resident on the Coastal Plain, and uncommon inland.  Peak counts occur along the coast during winter. … Habitat Associations: They are found in ponds, lakes, sedge meadows, marshes near grasslands, dry hillsides with bushy thickets or adjacent open woodlands.  They are generally an upland nester.  This species winters in tidal creeks and ponds bordered by mud flats, freshwater marshes, estuaries and coastal brackish marshes.   It avoids open salt water.  They use available cover for nests but prefer dense stands of grass, weeds, and brush.  Nests are usually 2 to 300 feet from water with an average of 95 feet. ...Lives in creeks and ponds bordered by mud flats at low tide.  Fresh or brackish creeks and ponds preferred over salt marshes. …Typical nesting habitat: grassland, sedge meadow, dry hillsides with aspen or brush thickets, open woods adjacent to slough or ponds. … General Food Comments: About 90% of diet is vegetation.  On mud flats, Green-wing Teals prefer seeds of moist soil plants (nut grasses, millet, smart weeds, water hemp) from previous years as well as insects and mollusks.  They will also take the seeds of bulrushes, pond weeds, and spike rushes.”

SOURCES

Used for Audio

John James Audubon, “Blue-winged Teal,” from Birds of America, accessed from The Audubon Society, online at http://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/blue-winged-teal.

John James Audubon, “Green-winged Teal,” from Birds of America, accessed from The Audubon Society, online at http://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/green-winged-teal.

Chesapeake Bay Program, “Blue-winged Teal,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/blue_winged_teal.

Chandler S. Robbins et al., A Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2001.

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at http://www.allaboutbirds.org.  The Blue-winged Teal entry is online at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue-winged_Teal/id; the Green-winged Teal entry at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green-winged_Teal/id.

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and American Ornithologists’ Union, “Birds of North America Online,” online at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna (subscription required for access).  The Blue-winged Teal entry is online at https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/buwtea/introduction; the Green-winged Teal entry at https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/gnwtea/introduction.

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Fish and Wildlife Information Service/Blue-winged Teal,” online at http://vafwis.org/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040057&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=17508.

For More Information about Birds in Virginia and Elsewhere
Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Merlin Photo ID.”  The application for mobile devices allows users to submit a bird photograph to get identification of the bird. Information is available online at http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/.

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society, “eBird,” online at http://ebird.org/content/ebird/.  Here you can find locations of species observations made by contributors, and you can sign up to contribute your own observations.

Virginia Society of Ornithology, online at http://www.virginiabirds.org/.  The Society is non-profit organization dedicated to the study, conservation, and enjoyment of birds in the Commonwealth.

Xeno-canto Foundation Web site at http://www.xeno-canto.org/. The site provides bird songs from around the world.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Birds” subject category.

Following are links to some other episode on ducks:
Canvasback – Episode 197, 1/20/14 ;
Common Goldeneye – Episode 303, 2/15/16;
Diving vs. dabbling ducks – Episode 197, 1/20/14;
Ducks in Virginia generally – Episode 136, 11/12/12;
Winter birds in Virginia generally (including Hooded Merganser) – Episode 150, 2/25/13.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

The episode may help with Virginia 2013 Music SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

This episode may also help with the following Virginia 2010 Science SOLs:

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 – Va. natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.

Grades K-6 Life Processes Theme
K.7 – basic needs and processes of plants and animals.
1.5 - animals’ basic needs and distinguishing characteristics.
3.4 - behavioral and physiological adaptations.

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
2.5 - living things as part of a system, including habitats.
3.5 - food webs.
3.6 - ecosystems, communities, populations, shared resources.
4.5 - ecosystem interactions and human influences on ecosystem.
5.5 - cell structures and functions, organism classification, and organism traits.
6.7 - natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Va. watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; health and safety issues; and water monitoring.

Life Science Course
LS.4 - organisms’ classification based on features.
LS.8 - community and population interactions, including food webs, niches, symbiotic relationships.
LS.9 - adaptations for particular ecosystems’ biotic and abiotic factors, including characteristics of land, marine, and freshwater environments.

Biology Course
BIO.8 - dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Following are links to previous Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.
Episode 249 (1-19-15) – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 250 (1-26-15) – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 255 (3-2-15) – on density, for 5th and 6th grade;
Episode 282 (9-21-15) – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten;
Episode 309 (3-28-16) – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade; Episode 332 (9-12-16) – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.