DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — [Update: Some of this information is deprecated after our move to WordPress in January 2007.] Every few months, I’m seized with a compulsion to tweak Search and Serendipity’s interface. When the urge becomes strong enough, I resign myself to hours of fiddling, hacking, research, and frustration. After achieving certain objectives (and giving up on others), I am free to carry on with normal life. Sometimes, after all that, nobody else can even tell what I’ve done.

I migrated my Blogger account over to Beta, but I have not “upgraded” my templates. To switch over while maintaining any semblance of this blog’s current look and feel would require more time and knowledge than I have at my disposal. This means that we’ll be missing out on some features for now, but it also means I will stay saner, which is good for all of us.

Without further ado, here are some changes of which you, gentle reader, should be aware:

1. Email subscriptions: Thanks to a new FeedBurner service, you can now pipe Search and Serendipity directly into your inbox! You will receive a daily email (if I’ve updated) with new and edited posts. Look for the sign-up form in the gutter at right, or click here to submit your email address.
2. Labels: Thank you, Blogger, for adding labels! I’ve gone back through my archives and labeled every post, which makes possible many of the features you’ll read about below. I’m now using labels instead of Technorati tags, though Technorati tags on old posts will remain in place. Technorati does index Blogger’s labels as tags. Labels appear at the bottom of each post. You can click one to bring up a page of other posts with the same label, though Blogger truncates this page at 20 posts. This appears to be a problem related to my sticking with the “classic” template. You can get around it by adding “?max-results=x” to the end of the URL, where x is an integer indicating the number of posts you’d like to view. (E.g., “http://thewanderling.blogspot.com/search/label/texas” (a maximum of 20 posts) becomes “http://thewanderling.blogspot.com/search/label/texas?max-results=75″, which displays up to 75 posts labeled “texas”.
3. Search: I’ve removed the search box that was in the gutter because I like the search function on the new Navbar (the black bar at the very top of the page). Searching for “chickadee” will bring up a page with up to 20 posts containing “chickadee.” Unfortunately, adding “?max-results=x” doesn’t work here. Maybe somebody else has figured out a workaround?
4. Navigation: The gutter contains a new section called “blog navigation.” There you will see four drop-down menus (or lists, if you’re browsing without JavaScript) and a map graphic. These tools present you with a variety of options for exploring previous posts. I’ve picked a few favorite posts — and I’m open to feedback about which posts should be included or removed. Also, I’ve had the map for awhile, but now it’s significantly updated, though there are still some locations I need to add (mainly in north-central Texas). Sometimes, the map markers are simply representative of a region, but in other cases, you can zoom in to see the very bridge or airport gate where I was standing. Cool!
5. Links: I’ve added a long-overdue blogroll, or at least the beginnings of one. People on every continent are blogging about the birds they share their lives with. It’s fantastic! There are more links I’d like to add eventually, but I don’t know how soon that will happen. Would you rather have me add a handful of links that you could find for yourself on Google, or do you want me to hurry up and post about last month’s vacation in the New Guinea highlands? That’s what I thought.
6. Ummm… I think that’s about all for now. Let me know if something seems broken or weird. Or, let me know if you appreciate the tweaks. Affirmation is good too.

UKARUMPA, PNG — Tonight I went looking for white-eyes. I wore a jacket because it is chilly, and Rainbow Lorikeets were noisy in the trees.

I found the berry-laden ornamentals and sat down on the grass. Gerygones seemed to giggle as they tumbled down the drooping casuarina. Black Kites soared silently, and I could hear the white-eyes far away.

It was no use straining to see them, so I waited.

One bird started calling from a nearby tree. I couldn’t see it until it flitted away, and I glimpsed its yellow breast before it disappeared, all alone into the sky.

None of its friends or relatives came, and soon I headed home for dinner. I will try again tomorrow.

It was a month ago that I first saw the white-eyes. I’d waited there in just that spot, and suddenly the branches sprang to life as the flock arrived at once.

Months of frustration were relieved; at last I could see the tiny, noisy birds. They feasted on the old and squishy fruit, offering me intimate glimpses through scrawny branches. I left them there, eventually, still feasting, and went home to share the story with you — but the internet had died.

It stayed dead for days, and then I left on another trip.

With a dismal six posts since the first of June, I fear I’m beginning to stretch even generous definitions of the word ‘blog’. I find my desires for this blog simply cannot be fulfilled — not as long as I am living without the internet for days and weeks at a time.

Thanks to those who are sticking with me. I’ll try to keep writing what I can, as long as the internet lasts.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Technical difficulties and extremely limited connectivity have prevented me from posting at all during my travels. I’ve probably lost the 3.5 readers that I did have.

Rest assured that I’m still birding and will begin posting updates again as soon as possible.

I racked up dozens of lifers in Papua New Guinea, I’m doing quite well in Australia, and I have high hopes for Vanuatu.