If I had a photography motto it might be “follow the crows.” As sentries of the canopy, crows know what’s going on. So I pay attention. If it mattered at all to crows, they could tell me who shattered my car window last month and who stole our Christmas tree (with decorations) back in 1995….
Fly Away Home (and Safe) … 2013
This is my annual re-post — on the first weekend of waterfowl hunting season in both Washington (where I’m living now) and California (my home). I’ve been lightly tweaking the post each year, adding new information or links. My reason for re-posting this piece is to bring attention to some of the lesser discussed…
Sea Lion Branding in Oregon
Because this is happening a few hours from home, I’m posting to bring some attention to the issue. I haven’t included any graphic photos, but the subject matter is the hazing and culling of California sea lions. Just south of our Washington border, in Astoria, Oregon, the Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is trapping…
How Many Songbirds Didn’t Have to Die?
** Note: There is no graphic visual content in this post. The subject matter, is, however disheartening for anyone who cares about birds. How many? That’s a legitimate question. I don’t know and I’d like to — but there’s no verifiable nor practical way to find out. It’s an issue that came up for me…
Support a New Wildlife Conservation Stamp
WildlifeConservationStamp.org is a collaborative effort to promote a new wildlife stamp and funding stream for our National Wildlife Refuges. We are birders, photographers, conservationists, wildlife rehabilitators, scientists, teachers and artists … joined by a common passion and concern for our nation’s wildlife and wild habitats. We propose the Wildlife Conservation Stamp to provide a consistent source of income…
Re-Capturing the Clapper Rail
The show Bird Note just posted an audio piece on California Clapper Rails in San Francisco Bay. Bird Note covers an eclectic array of bird stories, from behavioral questions to ecological issues. The stories are short audio bits with related blog posts and resources to flesh out the subject matter. As an adjunct to the Clapper…
Wet Eagles and Power Gulls
This is who we came to see in Beautiful British Columbia: And this is what drew our eyes upward … to the gossamer-draped mountains: All morning, the gulls traversed the valley in regiments. First one troop would cross, then another, then a third, their numbers interspersed with sudden flushes of Starlings from the trees (the…
RIP, Wolf 832F
The only descriptors that come to mind right now are “backward” and “barbarian.” I’m so disheartened, time and again, that gratuitous violence toward our wildlife is not only tolerated but sanctioned by many wildlife agencies and politicians. And, as much as I’ve tried over the years to be “reasonable” and “balanced” (I have), it’s often…
Our Thanksgiving Tradition: Turkey Adoption
There are a few posts I recycle annually, this Thanksgiving piece being one of them. Farm Sanctuary, where we’ve “adopted” our turkeys in previous years by making a donation, was the first farm sanctuary I learned about years ago when I was looking for a more animal-friendly way to celebrate the holiday with friends and…
Livestock Production, Wildlife & Food Choices
Edited 11/9/12: I received some additional links which expand the discussion here, concerning the findings of the FAO report I link to below. I’ve noted a few corrections in the actual text. But, you can read a good summary of the points in this New York Times piece, Measuring Livestock’s Long Shadow. In this article…
