My thanks to Lyanda Lynn Haupt for the book that reminded me to honor my original inspiration: the crow. It’s because of a crow that I became who I am. My mother arrived home one day with a juvenile crow in a box. I was just a kid, fourteen or so. Mom was dropping my…
Sandy Shorebill
At this point in my California life, I’d be chugging caffeine before the sun comes up, and getting to my favorite shorebird sanctuaries and mudflats as the light turns magenta rose …
Goose + Water
Feathers are such critical components of a bird’s flight, insulation and general survival, it’s no surprise they have meticulous spa routines. The bathing helps remove dirt and parasites, the preening helps reset the feather barbs. Most birds also coat the feathers with protective oil from the uropygial gland. We came upon a small family of…
Ice Ducks
Here’s my segue from Winter Water . . . to the semi-graceful form of winter ducks. The snow is gone, but I still froze my fingers into Rocket Pops, snapping pics of these ducks navigating their own version of tundra. Unlike me, the ducks kept their digits warm, thanks to the ingenious countercurrent circulation system…
Texturizing a Storm
Memory is quite central for me. Part of it is that I like the actual texture of writing through memory. ~ Kazuo Ishiguro I saw a crow yesterday, seized in midair by a gale. Just five feet from her tree, she paddled against the swell like a swimmer in an Endless Pool. I may not…
Favorite Flickr Moments . . .
. . . when a Flickr comment captures an image better than you did . . . I shot this photo at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, during a break in one of last winter’s storms. The winds buffeted the bluffs so hard, the ravens were flinging themselves into the headwinds, stationary — suspended in…
A Murder of Crows
My friend Britta turned me on to this PBS Nature special: A Murder of Crows. It’s a fascinating and touching look at crow intelligence. It’s also heartbreaking in spots, as it covers the crows’ adaptation to us and our antagonism toward them. Crows share some of our traits — traits which allow them to adapt…
The Enculturation of Wigeons
There’s an Eliza Doolittle thing happening at the local duck lake. Hugh and I have been frequenting our neighborhood shoreline on Puget Sound — a local, private beach where we hold the golden ticket: an access pass. It’s a coup really, because a lot of the shoreline is privately held here in Washington. This short…
Crow on the Outside, Looking In
There’s a wetlands pond not far away, with a group of friendly, habituated Mallards . . . and a small contingent of alert, migrating ducks (this week: Wigeons) who keep to themselves in the shade of the reeds, as far from humans as possible. The Mallards approach any new human. The possibility of food from…
Great Blue Dreams
We came upon this Great Blue Heron, perched statuesque above a leash-free dog area. The dog walkers didn’t look up. Neither did the dogs. But my eye is always looking …