In my previous post, I mentioned a Western Gull I managed to rescue … by true luck. Here’s that story. We were in Los Angeles all of January and part of February, and in the context of a chaotic month, I stole an hour to go strolling on the beach. On my walk over, through…
The Wildlife Conservation Stamp of the Future
I’m cross-posting from Larry Jordan’s blog, The Birders Report, and from the Wildlife Conservation Stamp website. Both pieces are about a project in which Larry and I and other conservation-minded individuals are involved. Here are links to full posts, with excerpts below: Imagine What a Wildlife Conservation Stamp Could Do! “… figures show that less…
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…
Best Behavior Beach Pledge + Other Signs
I love seeing signs like this … Two such signs were posted at Point Robinson Lighthouse on Vashon Island in Washington, one of the few public-access beaches in the area. It’s the same spot where I photographed the large flock of Brant Geese foraging along the shoreline earlier this year. On a crystal day, this…
A Closer Look … for Birds in Trouble
This post contains one image of a long-deceased gull, just FYI. You’d think I would have learned my lesson last year, with the dead gull I found wrapped around a deterrent wire on a nearby warehouse … or the gulls we untangled last fall from a fish-pen net. But, in fairness, this location was difficult…
If You Build It, the Eagles Will Come
We barely saw this sub-adult Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), hunkered down and camouflaged, in a tree above the trail at Union Bay Natural Area. I shot a few frames right before the sun fell below Husky Stadium to the south. At full extension, the eagle was still quite small in the frame, and the aggressive…
The Orca-Scat Tracking Dog
Tucker isn’t really interested in the water. But, he spends his working days on a boat, sniffing out orca scat in the breezes of the Salish Sea. He’s a labrador mix, trained as part of the Conservation Canine program — at the University of Washington’s Center For Conservation Biology. Tucker’s ambivalence about water actually makes…
If Orcas Could Buy Sofas …
Orcas can’t, of course, pick out sofas. But if they could, they would tell you that their survival may depend on the product and furniture choices we make — and the industries we support in the process. The orcas of the Salish Sea, who regularly cross the international boundary between Washington State and British Columbia,…
Give Wildlife a Break: Plum Solutions
On a recent morning, nursing my perfect cup of coffee as brewed by my perfect host of a friend, I heard a sound from the kitchen. A shout, actually …
Simple Things Do Help Wildlife
In Jain texts, the term ahimsa denotes the principle of least harm: “Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture or kill any creature or living being.” Jain monks take great care to look out for the least among us, going to lengths to avoid harming insects and so forth.
