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Welcome to the Community Forums at HiveWire 3D! Please note that the user name you choose for our forum will be displayed to the public. Our store was closed as January 4, 2021. You can find HiveWire 3D and Lisa's Botanicals products, as well as many of our Contributing Artists, at Renderosity. This thread lists where many are now selling their products. Renderosity is generously putting products which were purchased at HiveWire 3D and are now sold at their store into customer accounts by gifting them. This is not an overnight process so please be patient, if you have already emailed them about this. If you have NOT emailed them, please see the 2nd post in this thread for instructions on what you need to do
Songbird ReMix 10th Annual Audubon Sale!
- Thread starter LisaB
- Start date
Flint_Hawk
Extraordinary
I am reading, watching & enjoying Ken!
Thank-you all for reading my bird/enviro propaganda 
...and thank-you, Lyne, for exercising your CC a little more on my behalf
Okay, today's cool bird facts...
Since I'm now a week away from an event at my house for BirdLA day, I thought I'd take a little time to talk about "Birding" (yes, the latest PC term for bird watching is "birding" and bird watchers are "birders"). You might think that birding is a niche hobby but that's far from the truth, here are some numbers that are pretty surprising...
-66 million Americans actively participate in wildlife watching (USFWS 2001)
-46 million Americans are birders (conservatively defined as having taken a trip a mile or more from home for the primary purpose of observing and identifying birds or tried to identify birds around the home—USFWS, 2001 survey)
-22% of all Americans consider themselves birders. (USFWS 2001)
-Nearly 6 million Californians consider themselves birders (Audubon California 2010)
-Birding is the fastest growing form of outdoor recreation-- a 236% increase in participation from 1982 to 2001, from 21 million to 71 million (National Survey on Recreation and the Environment 2000-01).
-Birding is the second most popular hobby/pastime on the planet, only surpassed by gardening
-In the UK, an estimated 75% of households provide food for birds at some point during the winter.
For today's video, I'm pulling out an old standby-- Birds of Quail Hollow (about 1/10th of the birds that show-up at out house. See our bird list of all the species or bird photos for the ones I've manage to capture. Part of the secret of getting so many birds in our yard are multiple water sources, endemic native plants and the 80-100 lbs for bird food we go through in a week (yes, per week lol)
Also there's a second video; a USC film school documentary about the creation of our bird habitat and why we do it.
...and thank-you, Lyne, for exercising your CC a little more on my behalf
Okay, today's cool bird facts...
Since I'm now a week away from an event at my house for BirdLA day, I thought I'd take a little time to talk about "Birding" (yes, the latest PC term for bird watching is "birding" and bird watchers are "birders"). You might think that birding is a niche hobby but that's far from the truth, here are some numbers that are pretty surprising...
-66 million Americans actively participate in wildlife watching (USFWS 2001)
-46 million Americans are birders (conservatively defined as having taken a trip a mile or more from home for the primary purpose of observing and identifying birds or tried to identify birds around the home—USFWS, 2001 survey)
-22% of all Americans consider themselves birders. (USFWS 2001)
-Nearly 6 million Californians consider themselves birders (Audubon California 2010)
-Birding is the fastest growing form of outdoor recreation-- a 236% increase in participation from 1982 to 2001, from 21 million to 71 million (National Survey on Recreation and the Environment 2000-01).
-Birding is the second most popular hobby/pastime on the planet, only surpassed by gardening
-In the UK, an estimated 75% of households provide food for birds at some point during the winter.
For today's video, I'm pulling out an old standby-- Birds of Quail Hollow (about 1/10th of the birds that show-up at out house. See our bird list of all the species or bird photos for the ones I've manage to capture. Part of the secret of getting so many birds in our yard are multiple water sources, endemic native plants and the 80-100 lbs for bird food we go through in a week (yes, per week lol)
Also there's a second video; a USC film school documentary about the creation of our bird habitat and why we do it.
Thanks LisaB for directing me to this thread it is a great thing you all are doing for the animals!
Well, we're getting close to the end of the sale, just today (Sunday) and tomorrow... a big thanks to all of you that have supported my avian obsession and Audubon.
Today's Cool bird facts: Hummingbirds
If you live in North America, you probably have seen a hummingbird. On the east coast, it's only one species, the Ruby-throated, while if your a west-coaster you are spoiled with a possible dozen different species.
Hummingbirds comprise the Phaethornithinae and Trochilinae families and are found in North and South America. There are 356 species of hummingbird with more than 50 species currently having an “endangered status”. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 3–5 inches (7.5–13 cm) range. The smallest living bird species is the Bee Hummingbird (2 inches (5 cm)).
They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12–90 times per second (depending on the species and can fly at speeds exceeding 34 mph (54 km/h). Hummingbirds are the only birds in the world that can fly backwards, but most are incapable of walking or hopping.
At rest, their heart beats an average of 480 beats per minute. On cold nights they go into torpor, and the heart rate drops to 45–180 beats per minute. Breathing rate when resting is 245 breaths per minute at 91 degrees Fahrenheit; this rises to 420 breaths per minute when the temperature drops to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Torpid hummingbirds breathe sporadically.
With most hummingbirds, females average larger than males, and young birds average larger than their parents.
Hummingbirds consume about 1.6 to 1.7 times their body weight in nectar each day. Because hummingbirds sip from so many different flowers on any given day, they are integral to the process of pollination.
Their English name derives from the characteristic humming sound made by their rapid wing beats.
A group of hummingbirds has many collective nouns, including a “bouquet", "glittering", "hover", "shimmer", and "tune” of hummingbirds.
Hummingbirds play a strong role in Mesoamerican cultures. In Peru, one of the Nazca Lines depicts a hummingbird. The Nazca "drew" several hundred simple but huge curvilinear animal and human figures by this technique. In total, the earthwork project is huge and complex: the area encompassing the lines is nearly 500 square kilometers (190 sq. mi), and the largest figures can span nearly 270 meters (890 ft.). The lines were made by removing the reddish-brown iron oxide-coated pebbles that cover the surface of the Nazca desert. When the gravel is removed, it leaves a shallow trough ranging from 10 centimeters (3.9 in) to 15 centimeters (5.9 in) deep and the light-colored earth beneath shows in lines of sharply contrasting color and tone. This sub-layer contains high amounts of lime which with the morning mist hardens forming a protective layer that shields the lines from winds therefore preventing erosion. The extremely dry, windless, and constant climate of the Nazca region has preserved the lines well.
Aztecs wore hummingbird talismans, the talismans being representations as well as actual hummingbird fetishes formed from parts of real hummingbirds: emblematic for their vigor, energy, and propensity to do work along with their sharp beaks that mimic instruments of weaponry, bloodletting, penetration, and intimacy.
The Aztec god Huitzilopochtli is often depicted as a hummingbird. The Nahuatl word huitzil (hummingbird) is an onomatopoeic word derived from the sounds of the hummingbird's wing-beats and zooming flight.
Hummingbirds captured the imagination of European settlers as well and by the middle of the nineteenth century there was a large market for hummingbird skins in Europe. Sadly, hundreds of thousands of hummingbirds were killed in South America and shipped to markets in London and other cities throughout Europe, where they were purchased for collections, to make artificial flowers, and other ornamental uses.
American bird artist, John James Audubon, referred to hummingbirds as "glittering garments of the rainbow." Emily Dickinson, after seeing a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in her garden, she wrote:
He never stops, but slackens
Above the Ripest Rose --
Partakes without alighting
And praises as he goes,
Till every spice is tasted.
A hummingbird currently nesting a my house
I have three hummingbird product available:
Hummingbirds of North America
Hummingbirds of South America
Hummingbird Garden (native plants hummingbirds love)
and Hummingbird freebies...
oh and Songbird Motherhood does have some Hummingbird items
Today's Cool bird facts: Hummingbirds
If you live in North America, you probably have seen a hummingbird. On the east coast, it's only one species, the Ruby-throated, while if your a west-coaster you are spoiled with a possible dozen different species.
Hummingbirds comprise the Phaethornithinae and Trochilinae families and are found in North and South America. There are 356 species of hummingbird with more than 50 species currently having an “endangered status”. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 3–5 inches (7.5–13 cm) range. The smallest living bird species is the Bee Hummingbird (2 inches (5 cm)).
They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12–90 times per second (depending on the species and can fly at speeds exceeding 34 mph (54 km/h). Hummingbirds are the only birds in the world that can fly backwards, but most are incapable of walking or hopping.
At rest, their heart beats an average of 480 beats per minute. On cold nights they go into torpor, and the heart rate drops to 45–180 beats per minute. Breathing rate when resting is 245 breaths per minute at 91 degrees Fahrenheit; this rises to 420 breaths per minute when the temperature drops to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Torpid hummingbirds breathe sporadically.
With most hummingbirds, females average larger than males, and young birds average larger than their parents.
Hummingbirds consume about 1.6 to 1.7 times their body weight in nectar each day. Because hummingbirds sip from so many different flowers on any given day, they are integral to the process of pollination.
Their English name derives from the characteristic humming sound made by their rapid wing beats.
A group of hummingbirds has many collective nouns, including a “bouquet", "glittering", "hover", "shimmer", and "tune” of hummingbirds.
Hummingbirds play a strong role in Mesoamerican cultures. In Peru, one of the Nazca Lines depicts a hummingbird. The Nazca "drew" several hundred simple but huge curvilinear animal and human figures by this technique. In total, the earthwork project is huge and complex: the area encompassing the lines is nearly 500 square kilometers (190 sq. mi), and the largest figures can span nearly 270 meters (890 ft.). The lines were made by removing the reddish-brown iron oxide-coated pebbles that cover the surface of the Nazca desert. When the gravel is removed, it leaves a shallow trough ranging from 10 centimeters (3.9 in) to 15 centimeters (5.9 in) deep and the light-colored earth beneath shows in lines of sharply contrasting color and tone. This sub-layer contains high amounts of lime which with the morning mist hardens forming a protective layer that shields the lines from winds therefore preventing erosion. The extremely dry, windless, and constant climate of the Nazca region has preserved the lines well.
Aztecs wore hummingbird talismans, the talismans being representations as well as actual hummingbird fetishes formed from parts of real hummingbirds: emblematic for their vigor, energy, and propensity to do work along with their sharp beaks that mimic instruments of weaponry, bloodletting, penetration, and intimacy.
The Aztec god Huitzilopochtli is often depicted as a hummingbird. The Nahuatl word huitzil (hummingbird) is an onomatopoeic word derived from the sounds of the hummingbird's wing-beats and zooming flight.
Hummingbirds captured the imagination of European settlers as well and by the middle of the nineteenth century there was a large market for hummingbird skins in Europe. Sadly, hundreds of thousands of hummingbirds were killed in South America and shipped to markets in London and other cities throughout Europe, where they were purchased for collections, to make artificial flowers, and other ornamental uses.
American bird artist, John James Audubon, referred to hummingbirds as "glittering garments of the rainbow." Emily Dickinson, after seeing a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in her garden, she wrote:
He never stops, but slackens
Above the Ripest Rose --
Partakes without alighting
And praises as he goes,
Till every spice is tasted.
A hummingbird currently nesting a my house
I have three hummingbird product available:
Hummingbirds of North America
Hummingbirds of South America
Hummingbird Garden (native plants hummingbirds love)
and Hummingbird freebies...
oh and Songbird Motherhood does have some Hummingbird items
I have a question: Is there a preset for nestling or a fledgling in any of the products? (Especially the down-covered, or mostly down-covered ones for the waterfowl series?) It does not seem to be the case, but thought I'd ask in case I missed it.
Perhaps there is a morph or preset in another product that could work for this purpose?
Perhaps there is a morph or preset in another product that could work for this purpose?
I don't have any formal settings available but in the back of the "Pose Pack 1" manual there are some tips on creating a fledging-like bird
Shorebirds might be a little tougher to make into a fledgling, but yes... I'd suggest shortening the beak, the neck and shin length (the shin length is sort of broken on the WF series-- the update I'm working on fixes that).
Thank you for the great suggestions! I also sent you an email about Carrara support for SBRM3. I was thinking of getting one of the WF packages (I already have all the shorebirds), but if I cannot make it usable it in Carrara, there won't be a point. I know there was a Carrara-compatible 2.9 version of the base. If I buy the WF now, would it be possible to downgrade for the WF models by using the 2.9 base (or to update the SBRM-3 base to be Carrara compatible)?
I'm going to post this here rather than respond in a private email because this solution may be of help to others...
The actual problem with Carrara is that it doesn't like certain Poser scaling CR2 coding (eg. smoothScaleY hip_smooZ). While I'm making that less an issue in my new bases (which will be referred to as "2016" instead of "3") and have corrected the issue in some of the bases previously, the easiest work-around is to manually return the scaling to 100% on the "offending" body part (which is most commonly the two thighs).
You can use in many cases, older bases, although some parts may not function as they should. I haven't check the 2016 WF beta in Carrara yet but I will before it's release.
Fascinating information on the humming bird and South American cultures! I feel as though I have gotten to partake in a wonderful lecture about them. They are such beautiful jewels I can see why they would be seen as ancient totems and charms, but to me they are even more beautiful in their natural environment as you have shown in the photo.
My updates are always free. The 2016 update is slated through the summer into the fall. I have over 800 birds to adjust/improve so it's going to take some time.
Yes, we're very spoiled... we get 5 species regularly (Anna's, Allen's, Black-chinned, Costa's & Rufous) and sometimes the Calliope Hummer. They literally fly within inches of us on our front porch.
So, you learned that a group of Hummingbird is known as a “bouquet", "glittering", "hover", "shimmer", or "tune” of hummingbirds.
Bird have unusual group names...
A bevy of quail
A bouquet of pheasants [when flushed]
A brood of hens
A building of rooks
A cast of hawks [or falcons]
A charm of finches
A colony of penguins
A company of parrots
A congregation of plovers
A cover of coots
A covey of partridges [or grouse or ptarmigans]
A deceit of lapwings
A descent of woodpeckers
A dissimulation of birds
A dole of doves
An exaltation of larks
A fall of woodcocks
A flight of swallows [or doves, goshawks, or cormorants]
A gaggle of geese [wild or domesticated]
A host of sparrows
A kettle of hawks [riding a thermal]
A murmuration of starlings
A murder of crows
A muster of storks
A nye of pheasants [on the ground]
An ostentation of peacocks
A paddling of ducks [on the water]
A parliament of owls
A party of jays
A peep of chickens
A pitying of turtledoves
A raft of ducks
A rafter of turkeys
A siege of herons
A skein of geese [in flight]
A sord of mallards
A spring of teal
A tidings of magpies
A trip of dotterel
An unkindness of ravens
A watch of nightingales
A wedge of swans [or geese, flying in a "V"]
A wisp of snipe
Does anyone know (without looking it up) what a group of Wandering Tattlers are?
A whisper of Tattlers
---
Okay, it's the final day of sale and last of my cool facts (it's also the start of the Open Rendering Season Contest)
Cool Bird Facts #11: The Atlantic Puffin
Each summer off the coast of Maine, scientists with Audubon’s Project Puffin, document the finicky diets of pufflings, tracking the species, quantity, and size of the fish that the parents deliver to their young. They also weigh and measure the fuzzy nestlings and track their hatching, fledging, and survival rates. This type of long-term data is scarce for this species, says Steve Kress, director of Project Puffin—yet it’s integral for connecting puffin survival rates to the effects of climate change and commercial fisheries.
Now, a new study by Kress and coauthors, published last week in FACETS, forges that link by showing that pufflings' diets are changing fast. Using data that dates back to 1993, the experts calculated that post-fledging survival rates have declined by an average of 2.5 percent per year, and that the chicks' body condition has declined as well. The reason, Kress says, is a less-than-ideal menu, caused by climate change and pressures from fisheries.
How are the chicks’ diets changing?
Puffins are particularly sensitive to changes in local fish populations because they return to the same island burrows year after year; most end up raising their own chicks at the same sites where they hatched. Parents generally gather fish and crustaceans for their pufflings within a 12-mile radius of the nest. Little is known about what the adults eat, since they feed at sea, so the young provide a window into the relationship between fish and puffins. “I think of them as little fishing fleets going out every day . . . to see what they can catch, and then they come back with the catch of the day,” Kress says.
The most frequent catch recorded between 2005 and 2014 was white hake, followed by Atlantic herring, but fewer of these fish were seen over time. On the other hand, the proportion of butterfish, haddock, and redfish increased in the birds’ diets—none of these species were present during the earlier years of the study.
This changing menu is important because puffin chicks are very particular about their meals. They can only fit smaller, narrower fish—like white hake—into their beaks and often have trouble swallowing larger, oval-shaped species like butterfish. And since puffin parents don’t tear up the fish for their young (unlike some other birds), the babies have to swallow their food whole. In 2012, Audubon's Puffin Cam documented Petey the chick starving to death after his parents brought him butterfish that were impossible for him to eat.
What’s causing these shifts?
It seems that climate change is disrupting the pufflings’ diets—and the entire marine food web—by heating up the ocean and reducing the abundance of plankton that fish need to eat. White hake and Atlantic herring thrive in colder waters, as there tends to be more plankton there. That means schools are moving northward and deeper, where puffin parents may not be able to reach them. Plankton and fish populations are also affected by climate-driven increases in precipitation and ice melt, which alter water clarity and salinity.
Additionally, on the two islands where the scientists studied the chicks, hatching success and fledging rates declined significantly from 2010 to 2013, with the two worst years corresponding to unusually warm ocean temperatures. They rebounded in 2014 following a winter with colder water. This type of “ocean heat wave” is expected to become more frequent due to climate change, so the low hatching and fledging rates could be a preview of how puffins respond to warmer seas.
Humans may also be playing a direct role in the chicks’ hardships, specifically through mismanagement of commercial fisheries. It’s a double bind for the young, inexperienced birds, Kress says. “The puffin [fledgling] is headed off into a warmer sea affected by climate, which is less productive, and it’s also headed into a sea that’s being heavily fished by commercial fisheries.” For example, most of Maine’s herring—a puffling favorite—is snapped up for lobster bait. It’s possible that the new, more heat-tolerant species could meet the chicks’ dietary needs, but it’s still up in the air whether the timing of their migrations will match the puffins’ breeding season.
Kress emphasizes that there is hope for protecting Atlantic Puffins in the future. But people need to look at the bigger picture. Tightening up restrictions on commercial fisheries, limiting carbon emissions, and protecting the birds’ wintering grounds will be essential in the years ahead. “You can protect the islands, as we are and as we must,” Kress says, “but if the fish are not protected and the habitat is not protected, then the work on the islands is not sufficient.”
Puffin Cam (it's off-season right now but you can see other Seabirds)
The Atlantic and other Puffins are available in Songbird ReMix Puffins, Auks and Auklets
---
Okay, it's the final day of sale and last of my cool facts (it's also the start of the Open Rendering Season Contest)
Cool Bird Facts #11: The Atlantic Puffin
Each summer off the coast of Maine, scientists with Audubon’s Project Puffin, document the finicky diets of pufflings, tracking the species, quantity, and size of the fish that the parents deliver to their young. They also weigh and measure the fuzzy nestlings and track their hatching, fledging, and survival rates. This type of long-term data is scarce for this species, says Steve Kress, director of Project Puffin—yet it’s integral for connecting puffin survival rates to the effects of climate change and commercial fisheries.
Now, a new study by Kress and coauthors, published last week in FACETS, forges that link by showing that pufflings' diets are changing fast. Using data that dates back to 1993, the experts calculated that post-fledging survival rates have declined by an average of 2.5 percent per year, and that the chicks' body condition has declined as well. The reason, Kress says, is a less-than-ideal menu, caused by climate change and pressures from fisheries.
How are the chicks’ diets changing?
Puffins are particularly sensitive to changes in local fish populations because they return to the same island burrows year after year; most end up raising their own chicks at the same sites where they hatched. Parents generally gather fish and crustaceans for their pufflings within a 12-mile radius of the nest. Little is known about what the adults eat, since they feed at sea, so the young provide a window into the relationship between fish and puffins. “I think of them as little fishing fleets going out every day . . . to see what they can catch, and then they come back with the catch of the day,” Kress says.
The most frequent catch recorded between 2005 and 2014 was white hake, followed by Atlantic herring, but fewer of these fish were seen over time. On the other hand, the proportion of butterfish, haddock, and redfish increased in the birds’ diets—none of these species were present during the earlier years of the study.
This changing menu is important because puffin chicks are very particular about their meals. They can only fit smaller, narrower fish—like white hake—into their beaks and often have trouble swallowing larger, oval-shaped species like butterfish. And since puffin parents don’t tear up the fish for their young (unlike some other birds), the babies have to swallow their food whole. In 2012, Audubon's Puffin Cam documented Petey the chick starving to death after his parents brought him butterfish that were impossible for him to eat.
What’s causing these shifts?
It seems that climate change is disrupting the pufflings’ diets—and the entire marine food web—by heating up the ocean and reducing the abundance of plankton that fish need to eat. White hake and Atlantic herring thrive in colder waters, as there tends to be more plankton there. That means schools are moving northward and deeper, where puffin parents may not be able to reach them. Plankton and fish populations are also affected by climate-driven increases in precipitation and ice melt, which alter water clarity and salinity.
Additionally, on the two islands where the scientists studied the chicks, hatching success and fledging rates declined significantly from 2010 to 2013, with the two worst years corresponding to unusually warm ocean temperatures. They rebounded in 2014 following a winter with colder water. This type of “ocean heat wave” is expected to become more frequent due to climate change, so the low hatching and fledging rates could be a preview of how puffins respond to warmer seas.
Humans may also be playing a direct role in the chicks’ hardships, specifically through mismanagement of commercial fisheries. It’s a double bind for the young, inexperienced birds, Kress says. “The puffin [fledgling] is headed off into a warmer sea affected by climate, which is less productive, and it’s also headed into a sea that’s being heavily fished by commercial fisheries.” For example, most of Maine’s herring—a puffling favorite—is snapped up for lobster bait. It’s possible that the new, more heat-tolerant species could meet the chicks’ dietary needs, but it’s still up in the air whether the timing of their migrations will match the puffins’ breeding season.
Kress emphasizes that there is hope for protecting Atlantic Puffins in the future. But people need to look at the bigger picture. Tightening up restrictions on commercial fisheries, limiting carbon emissions, and protecting the birds’ wintering grounds will be essential in the years ahead. “You can protect the islands, as we are and as we must,” Kress says, “but if the fish are not protected and the habitat is not protected, then the work on the islands is not sufficient.”
Puffin Cam (it's off-season right now but you can see other Seabirds)
The Atlantic and other Puffins are available in Songbird ReMix Puffins, Auks and Auklets
Flint_Hawk
Extraordinary
That isn't good news Ken.
The bird week here is getting off to an exciting start though!
For the first time a pair of Gambel's Quail (there's a small pocket of them in this area) came to the backyard feeder to eat! Earlier this spring a flight of Eurasian Collared Doves arrived. It was the first time I had seen them in this area. They are enjoying the feeder too. What a delight to have them visiting & I am privileged to be able to see them from my computer desk.
The bird week here is getting off to an exciting start though!
For the first time a pair of Gambel's Quail (there's a small pocket of them in this area) came to the backyard feeder to eat! Earlier this spring a flight of Eurasian Collared Doves arrived. It was the first time I had seen them in this area. They are enjoying the feeder too. What a delight to have them visiting & I am privileged to be able to see them from my computer desk.