Pinar Yoldas
Pinar Yoldas (1979) lives and works in California. An architect, artist, and teacher, she defines herself as an infradisciplinary designer/artist/researcher. Her work develops in the field of biological sciences and digital technologies through architectural installations, kinetic sculpture, sound, video, and drawing, with a focus on post-humanism, eco-nihilism, the Anthropocene, and feminist technoscience. Her instruction is an invitation to urban ornithology, following in the footsteps of Jean-Jacques Audubon.
Fun Fact
Birds do not only live in forests, fields and meadows or in the mountains. Many species can be observed in your own garden. The more diverse the garden, the more species live there. Large trees, native bushes and shrubs or flower meadows attract many bird species. Designing and maintaining our gardens in a more natural way can significantly improve the living conditions of birds. By planting native shrubs and wild plants, giving them time to develop their seeds and fruits and showing greater tolerance for "disorder" in the garden, we offer birds varied food sources. Birds also find nesting sites in dense, thorny shrubs and in green trees and facades. Diversity is also good for us humans, and we are rewarded with beautiful encounters. A bird-friendly garden involves: encouraging native plants, creating a variety of structures and habitats, avoiding chemicals, not using peat, and maintaining it in a way that is appropriate and respectful of nature.
Call to Action
Birds need to clean themselves regularly, just like us, to be able to display attractive and protective plumage, as well as to get rid of their parasites. You will sometimes see birds taking sand baths, in places where the earth is bare. Just like bird feeders or nest boxes, you can provide birds with a saucer with water and/or sand for their bath, on your balcony, terrace or garden. However, if you fill a saucer with water, be sure to change it regularly to avoid the proliferation of invasive mosquitoes, and avoid the risk of drowning by controlling the depth of the water.
Riddle
The black-headed gull is noisy, and its hoarse calls sound like cackling. During the nesting season, what surprising behaviour does it adopt when disturbed?
A) First, it emits an alarm call that causes several birds to take flight. Together, they swoop down on the intruder and spray it with excrement. They continue in this way until the intruder flees. This harassing behaviour is known as "nagging" or "mobbing".
B) It uses undulating flight as a territorial warning signal, with large movements towards the nest.
C) It swings its head by rapidly extending and retracting its neck.
D) It calls only to attract the predator's attention away from the nest or chicks.