Bird

Is there an ornithologist in the house? I think I might have seen a wild turkey this morning. No, not the kind in the bottle. That won't happen before 5. On my bike ride into work I saw a kind of bird I had never before seen in these parts. I was on the pathway on the west shore of Jackson Pond in Long Reach. Standing in the grass just off the pathway was a dun-colored critter that, from beak to tailfeathers, was three or four feet long. As I approached, it sauntered behind one of the apartment buildings.

The Baltimore sports scene is blessed with a bunch of talented bloggers who bring their unique perspective to the conversation. Each week, I hope to chat with one of them in a regular feature called Blogger on Blogger. This week, I exchanged emails with Amanda Redman, who blogs about the Orioles for the Birds Watcher blog . MV: The Orioles entered Monday night's AL East showdown with the New York Yankees with five straight losses, all at home. I know there is still a long way and many, many games between now and late September, but are you concerned that these Orioles might be finally falling back to Earth?

I just decided I don't like the Orioles new smiling bird on their hats. It's a smiley cartoon bird face for kids only. The team wants to look and play tough, be grown-up. But their symbol is a laughable beakface. Let's name the Bird "Smiley. " George J. Samuels

New Era has revealed the design for this year's special Memorial Day caps, which the Orioles will wear May 27 against the Nationals in Washington. Since 2008, Major League Baseball has honored the holiday by wearing special commemorative caps. Typically, the caps have featured red, white and blue regardless of the teams' usual colors. This year, the emphasis is on camouflage. The caps will be available at neweracap.com, MLB.com and at clubhouse stores with proceeds going to the Welcome Back Veterans Fund.

Forced into retirement after the worst season in club history, the goofy, grinning cartoon bird logo has been dusted off, altered slightly and will be returning next season to Orioles hats for the first time since 1988. The Orioles officially unveiled their 2012 uniforms and caps on their website Tuesday morning with two notable changes: a switch in hat logos from the ornithologically correct bird to the cartoon one and the inclusion of an orange jersey, which will be worn during all Saturday home games next season.

Just when we all were getting over the irony of a team named the “Saints” getting stung in that tawdry NFL bounty scandal, the transplanted New Orleans Hornets of the NBA have announced they will change their nickname to the “Pelicans.” The reason is high-minded, of course. The brown Pelican is the state bird of Louisiana, and it became emblematic of the area's comeback from both Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. Proponents feel it will remind a new generation about the importance of the environment and the resilience of the gulf coast region.

The Orioles break out the cartoon bird logo, and all of a sudden they're unbeatable. Coincidence? Well, yeah, almost certainly so. But it's hard to deny there are some good vibes reverberating through the city right now. Camden Yards has a new rooftop bar in center field, that adorable grinning bird is everywhere you look, and the team actually appears competitive. Think back to 1997, when the Denver Broncos changed their logo and uniforms. The next thing you knew, John Elway was windmilling into the end zone in the first of two Super Bowl victories.

If the Orioles' 4-2, 18-inning, five-hour and 44-minute victory over the Seattle Mariners wasn't weird enough, consider the plight of reliever Tommy Hunteron Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. He picked up the win. And some bird excrement in the process. We're not joking. Hunter was in the bullpen, about to enter in the 16th inning, when one of many seagulls at Safeco Field, deposited some droppings on Hunter's hat. “I was minding my own business, not doing anything. I thought it was [reliever Luis]

Boston's winter of 1948 was bitterly cold. Slugger Ted Williams went south to fish. On Jan. 28, while Ted was fishing in Florida, Doris Williams gave birth to a daughter, Barbara Joyce Williams. The baby was early. Ted was late.The Globe's Harold Kaese wrote, "Everyone knows where Moses was when the lights went out. And apparently everybody knows where Ted Williams was when his baby was born Tuesday. He was fishing."In his biography, "My Turn at Bat," Williams wrote, "Well, Bobby Jo was the most important thing in my life from the moment she was born . . . but I sure wasn't going to apologize for something that didn't concern anybody but Doris and me."

Bel Air -- No less of an American icon than kindly old Ben Franklin argued against adopting the bald eagle as a national symbol. Ben was known to be a little quirky, but his reasoning was sound. The bald eagle is a scavenger, fiercer looking than acting, and a bit of a fraud. It is neither bald nor a true eagle. Ben argued for the wild turkey, feathered rather than bottled, a species that is steadfast, resolute and, not to be overlooked, delicious. Sorry Ben, but that turkey won't fly.There is a bird, however, that is the perfect symbol for America, whose every attribute coincides with our greatest strengths and whose history is eerily parallel to our own. Congress should move immediately to replace the bald eagle with the European starling.

The Orioles have been getting quite a bit of national pub these days. They've been rising up everybody's power rankings , and this fella who plays third base seems to be a topic of conversation wherever you turn (even after losses like today's). Well, the Oriole Bird is getting his share of the love, too. Forbes revealed its 10 most popular mascots in pro sports on Tuesday, and our furry friend who patrols the aisles at Camden Yards is among them . As they explain, the mascots were chosen on the following crieteria: "Awareness, likeability, attention-getting, photo-friendliness, interaction and fun. " Fans were also asked if a given mascot happened to be his “absolute favorite” or “one of my favorites.” The Orioles' success on the field seemed to also be a factor in The Bird being chosen.

A wind power project proposed on the lower Eastern Shore that's struggling to overcome objections from the Navy has a new, airborne worry - bald eagles. Federal wildlife biologists say the population of the once-rare national bird has grown so much that there are about 400 bald eagles along the mid-Atlantic coast, including 30 nests within 10 miles of the project in Somerset County, and three in the immediate vicinity. Declaring the area "extremely attractive" to the birds, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has warned the developer of the Great Bay wind project that it "appears to present significant risk to eagles" and urged it to scale back its plans.

When Paul Makuchal won the 39th annual Maryland Migratory Game Bird Stamp Design Contest last month, he didn't think about it being his third win. He was humbled. “It was a great surprise when I won. It's a pretty competitive art contest,” said Makuchal, 36, of Pocomoke City. “There are a lot of good artists in Maryland and a couple of them have won the federal contest, which is a really prestigious prize. So it's definitely an honor to win in a state that has a really competitive field of artists.” Makuchal with his painting “Peaceful Swim,” inspired by a photograph of a lesser scaup, a species of North American diving duck.

The Orioles bullpen had a - pardon the pun - bird's-eye view of center fielder Adam Jones' two-run homer on Wednesday night. When Jones smoked a line drive to left-center field that hit off the a metal railing over the fence and bounced back in, the Orioles relievers were just feet away from where the ball landed. “There are very few people who could have seen it besides us,” said rookie reliever T.J. McFarland, who had crouched down preparing to field the ball as it reached the fence.”We saw it right there, because the railing is slightly lower than the fence.

The Aberdeen IronBirds, a Class A short season affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, is looking for a new public address announcer for Ripken Stadium. "The Voice" of Ripken Stadium is an online, social contest allowing interested parties to submit an audition video and engage in an interactive, public voting process. Finalists will be invited to perform live at Ripken Stadium on Saturday, May 4 in front of a judging panel during the Aberdeen IronBirds' FanFest. To enter "The Voice" of Ripken Stadium contest, fans must follow a downloadable script provided at Facebook.com/RipkenBaseball for creation of their official audition video.

Et cetera IronBirds holding contest to find new PA announcer The Aberdeen IronBirds, the short-season Single-A affiliate of the Orioles, announced a search for a new public address announcer for Ripken Stadium. "The Voice" of Ripken Stadium is an online contest allowing competitors to submit an audition video and engage in a public voting process. Finalists will be invited to perform live at Ripken Stadium on May 4 in front of a judging panel during the IronBirds' FanFest.

On January 31, 2006, DAVID R. BIRD, beloved husband of 49 years Eleanor Preston Bird, loving father of David R. Bird, Jr. and Linda C. Brogan, devoted grandfather of Erin, David R. III and Kristyn Bird. Family and friends are invited to an memorial Mass of Christian burial at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 257 South Law Street, Aberdeen, MD 21001 on Saturday, February 4, 2006 at 10 A.M. Interment at Bakers Cemetery.

The Orioles have added a right-handed bat, and he'll be in their lineup every day. The club is putting a cartoon bird logo on its uniforms, the Orioles announced this week. The "Fun Bird," an Oriole holding a bat in a right-handed position, will be displayed on the left sleeve of jerseys and warm-up jackets. "It's something of a retro look that we think fans will like," Joe Foss, Orioles chief operating officer, said in a news release. The Orioles also announced that they will wear orange-billed caps at home and all-black caps on the road.

From many little yellow peeps, one artistic family saw a giant yellow bird. At the sixth annual "Peep Show" in downtown Westminster, the massive 3,810-marshmallow-strong Big Bird drew the biggest oohs and ahhs among the young kids and older fans who filled the Carroll County Arts Council building on Main Street Saturday, all there to take in a host of candy-inspired creations. The "Long Live Sesame Peep" display, complete with a trash-canned Oscar the Grouch, was created by Robert Mondor and his family - wife Ann, son Sean, 10, and daughter Lauren, 8, all of Westminster - and was just one of many pop-culture-inspired displays at the Easter event, which has become a major fundraiser for the council each year.

Predation by free-roaming cats is a serious matter, and it deserves our careful attention ("House cats: the destructive invasive species purring on your lap," Feb. 25). The Humane Society of the United States values both cats and wildlife. Yet it is unrealistic and inhumane to simply gather up some 30 to 80 million unowned cats and remove them from the outdoors, as op-ed writer George Fenwick suggests. Adoption is not feasible for truly feral cats. Permanent sanctuary for that many cats would require inordinate resources.