First there was Blue. She came to us from the great blue, the wild blue, as blue as Lightin’ Slim, singing pigeon blues, not Rooster Blues. She came on banded foot, born of two other Blues who gave our Blue her azul feathers and fuchsia feet … in a lineage that swept back through the…
Plenty to Squawk About
Pictured: Captive Macaw – ©ingridtaylar I was just turned on to this article through our local dove-and-pigeon rescue group, Mickacoo. Mickacoo’s dedicated and superhuman founder, Elizabeth, helped mentor me in the ways of understanding domestic birds. Although I’ve worked with animals most of my life, I’d never been involved with domestically-bred birds: parrots, doves, racing…
The Face of Restoration
This face is helping Coyote Hills Regional Park manage non-native plant numbers …
A Cat Illustrating “Frame Within a Frame”
Composition is complex. It’s not that the simple rules — like the Rule of Thirds — are so tough to grasp. It’s that the learning curve from first applying rules to then breaking rules is one chocolate mess of subjectivity.
Showdown at Berkeley Marina
“This country ain’t big enough for the two of us. So I’m giving you ’til sundown to get out of town.” ~ The Virginian
No Room at the Inn: A Quail’s Tale
Japanese Quail are known for shooting upward like missiles, and they can even kill themselves by hitting their noggins on hard surfaces. A Japanese Quail can shoot up and out through a space in the bag that’s narrower than my arm . . .
Foreclosure Birds . . . and Other Pets
Anyone who works in an animal rescue field knows that the current rate of home foreclosures never bodes well for pets. The number of cats and dogs callously left behind skyrockets. And beyond the innate emotional cruelty of the abandonment, some pets are locked in the homes with no food or water, left to starve…
Things to Know (and Love) About a Japanese Quail
He was misidentified but not forgotten — this lone Japanese Quail who fluttered his way into a wildlife hospital and then, into our hands and hearts. We gave him an appropriately Japanese name: “Mikiko” which, loosely translated, means “child of the tree.” A fellow volunteer pointed out that he is not, in fact, a child…
The Case of the Misidentified Quail
He handed over the box: “A rescued quail.” We volunteer at a wildlife hospital, so a safe assumption might be California Quail. But assumptions are silly in a world where us newer volunteers sometimes mess up species identification. This bird clearly wasn’t a California Quail. Their markings are distinct and easy once you know them. “It’s…
