I decided, when I started this blog, that I would limit the content to things I’d personally photographed or experienced. For the most part, I do that, digressing only occasionally. I made that choice because on any given day, I read about, hear about, or other wise encounter wildlife issues that either trouble me or…
How Do You Feel About Wing Tags?
Edited 4/4/12 to add: I got a note from the biologist associated with this study, who gave me some background on the hawk pictured here. It’s a juvenile female who was tagged last August 2011 at SeaTac Airport. She — along with the other hawks who are trapped and tagged — was taken up to…
The “Cripples” … or Why I Hate Wing Shooting
Yesterday evening, we were photographing Snow Geese and didn’t realize that we (along with at least 10 other photographers) had chosen a field where hunters were lying in camo. I promised myself I would wait until hunting season was over before I ventured into the wilds beyond Seattle — just as I did last year….
Having a Heart for Horses
In commemoration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday: “Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way. ” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. I’ve…
Part 3: Our Economic Potential As Birders & Wildlife Watchers
This is Part 3 (of 3) in a series on non-hunting revenue streams for our National Wildlife Refuge system. In Part 1 I talk about the issues surrounding the current funding system. In Part 2, I interview Marlin Greene who’s been producing an alternative refuge stamp since 2006, to draw attention to this subject. Edited…
Add a Voice to the Refuge Stamp Discussion
There’s a great comment thread happening over at 10,000 Birds where Mike was kind enough to cross-link to my recent posts here on Non-Hunters and Wildlife Refuges. The 10,000 Birds site is an awesome place — a repository for all things bird and birding. It’s one of my regular stops for bird news and commentary,…
Part 2: The Non Hunters’ Stamp
In the first part of this three-part series, I posted about the funding issues that shape land-use decisions on National Wildlife Refuges.You can read that post here: Part 1: Non-Hunters and National Wildlife Refuges.In Part 3 I discuss how birders, photographers and wildlife watchers can capitalize on their economic power. Here, I interview photographer Marlin…
Part 1: Wildlife Watchers and National Wildlife Refuges
This is a three part series about National Wildlife Refuge funding and how the current system affects land-use privileges for non-hunters and non-consumptive users. In Part 2 I interview photographer Marlin Greene who has created a No Hunting Stamp to promote awareness about hunting on National Wildlife Refuges. And in Part 3 I discuss how…
Local Salmon & the Salmon ISA Virus
I came upon Alexandra Morton through a link on a Facebook page — the Orca Network’s page. Morton is a biologist who, according to her brief bio statement, is “a registered professional biologist who was living in a remote archipelago studying whales when the fish farmers came to my town.” Today, she posted a revealing…
Derelict Nets & Entangled Birds
Note: All gulls pictured in this post, and other trapped birds were freed from the netting. Follow Up on 10/21/11: I phoned today and learned that an official went out to this net, confirmed what we saw in terms of bird entanglement, and holes in the net have apparently been fixed as a temporary measure,…
