A Bird In Yard Worth Twofold On The Internet

First, the Internet linked scientists, homes, schools and businesses. Now the World Wide Web is connecting backyards.

Birdwatching history will be made Feb. 20-22 with the first BirdSource Backyard Bird Count, co-sponsored by Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

Anyone with access to the Internet can participate. A backyard bird feeder and a field guide to Western birds will make the effort more interesting.

Simply count and identify the birds in your yard and report them on a new state-of-the art Web site. As the weekend wears on, the graphics and animated maps are designed to compile reports from across the country almost instantly.

By the end of the weekend - depending on the spread of participation - the reports could indicate a pattern of bird distribution in the United States.

“We need people to help us,” said Frank Gill, Audubon’s senior vice-president for Science. “If every one of the approximately 60-million bird watchers in the United States could participate, they would add significantly to our knowledge.”

The bird count is scheduled for the period in which most birds are at the southernmost point in their migrations, just before they begin their spring return trips.

Participants should pick a time of day to count the birds of each species in their yards. Then they can report the counts each of the three days on the Web site at: http://birdsource.cornell.edu/

Forms will be interpreted by scientists for instant display on the Web. Experts say this technology could revolutionize our ability to keep track of birds.

Birdwatchers who don’t have a home computer can participate by telephoning (800) 843-2473.

Breaking the code: Ever notice how your good friend Ben Fishin will talk to you for an hour about his latest angling success, and then make you swear not to tell anyone else?

The funny thing is that during the next week a dozen other anglers tell you about the same fishing secret. When you ask where they heard about it, they all say the source was Ben Fishin.

Here are some of the fishing exploits anglers told me about this week. Most of them asked me not to disclose the fishing hole. Of course, I will keep my promise.

Several fly fishers have had phenomenal days recently for catching and releasing trout in the 18-inch range in the open waters of a lake that brings to mind a patriotic summer holiday.

Jig- and lure-chucking anglers had fast action early this week for 5-pound rainbows on a stretch of the region’s largest river. Hint: You might have to go into the woods to find these lunkers.

Jim Shopbell of Spokane is wallowing in the glory of catching a 5-pound, 2-ounce rainbow this week. The ice had receded about 10 feet from the shore on a lake, which Shopbell willingly disclosed. But this is so much fun, I’ll only say the lake conjures up images of pork.

Shopbell cast to the edge of the ice and let his sinker drop about eight feet to the bottom. A two-foot leader ran from the sinker to the hook, which was baited with corn, worms and enough marshmallows to float the rig off the bottom above the sinker.

The big trout fell for it.

But that wasn’t the biggest fish of the day from a lake some anglers are calling the Bay of Pigs.

Another angler cast a Flatfish lure onto the ice near Shopbell and then started reeling. When the lure slid off the ice, he let it sink into the water several feet before continuing the retrieve.

This technique netted him a fish approaching 7 pounds, Shopbell said.

Here’s another tip to which I was sworn to a certain level of secrecy. File it away for fall:

Flooding and high water in the spring of 1996 translated into excellent 1997 returns of one-salt steelhead to a river French trappers dubbed the Big Round. The high spring flows had boosted the survival rates of smolts that migrated downstream and over dams en route to the ocean. Similar conditions last spring should spell another season of good steelhead returns to the Big Round this fall.

Idaho rules: The 1998-1999 Idaho fishing rules booklet is off the presses and available at Idaho Fish and Game offices and license dealers.

The free booklet contains few major changes, although rules for some individual fishing waters may differ from previous seasons. Steelhead fishing rules are included.

Check your speed: Anglers who are serious about trolling for kokanee are learning they can’t rely on their electronic fish finders for boat speed.

Tolling speed is critical when fishing for kokanee, but most sonar units aren’t accurate at very slow speeds. Kokanee anglers, for example, generally troll about 1.5 mph.

High-tech gadgets are common on fishing boats. But a simple low-tech speed measuring devise is winning favor with discriminating anglers.

The Luhr-Jensen trolling speed indicator attaches to the side of the boat and operates by dragging a weighted ball in the water on a length of cord.

Simple has always been a key word for successful fishing.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review