Something to crow about...

I am proud to welcome Dave Aupperlee as a guest blogger to Inside the Pack. Dave is BISSELL’s Manager of Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs. It is Dave’s job to assure that BISSELL products are safe and in compliance with all applicable regulations. Dave was introduced to birding by his high school biology teacher. In recent years he has combined his love of birding and all things outdoors with his passion for habitat preservation and has worked on projects to have corporately-owned land certified under the Wildlife Habitat Council’s Corporate Wildlife Habitat Certification Program. An avid wildlife photographer, he has also contributed works to wildlife calendars.

Here's Dave talking about a recent bird event at our corporate office:

As part of organized Earth Week activities for BISSELL associates, I volunteered to lead a “bird walk” for anyone interested at lunchtime last Tuesday. I am a life-long birder and it is always a joy to take people out and introduce them to some of the most abundant wildlife that is easily observable, be it at a park, along the roadways, in the backyard, or even at the workplace.

At BISSELL we are fortunate to have some very nice habitat areas on the property that are easily walkable during lunchtime or a break. I knew we would not see a great number of different species due to the time of year, but for me it is not the quantity of birds one sees, but the quality. Rather than counting the total number of species, I like to point out the behavior of the birds and their distinctive flying, perching, feeding, or nesting habits.


I was encouraged that a group of 10 or so BISSELL associates showed up for the walk, binoculars in hand. Mostly novices, some perhaps “birding” for the first time, they observed the usual early-spring suspects: Tree Swallows catching insects in flight, Eastern Bluebirds dropping down from their perches in search of food, American Robins working the ground for worms, a Red-tailed Hawk soaring high above, male Red-winged Blackbirds staking out their breeding territory.

But, no doubt, the highlight of the walk came when one of the participants spotted a very large bird perched on a branch of a massive White Pine: a Great Horned Owl. The Great Horned Owl is one of the most widespread and common owls in North America. However, spotting one is a rare treat indeed. We observed the bird for a good long while, as he seemed to be unconcerned about our presence. To find out more on the Great Horned Owl, go to http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/lifehistory



Subsequent visits back to the site revealed the mate to the bird we observed and a youngster! The little one had probably hatched out a 4 or 5 weeks previous and now was venturing out of the nest. This behavior is known as “branching”. Young Great Horned Owls begin branching at 5 weeks, when they are almost the size of their parents. However, they are not efficient fliers until 9-10 weeks.

Since that walk, I have had many BISSELL associates ask me when we are going out again.

Stay tuned for future updates from guest blogger Dave as he ventures out again in the next week or so!