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163 posts

World-Class Parks Showcase Canadian Rockies

Oh Canada! What a sight for sore eyes you are. Not only your supernatural parks and wilderness, but also your immaculate city parks, vandalism-free campgrounds,  trash-free highways, and clean bathrooms.  Oh Canada! What a sound for sore ears your conversations are, often including kind and considerate words like “please,” “thank […]

Oregon’s Coastal Visionaries

Oregon’s Coastal Visionaries “Ahhh, the coast: that single word encompasses…craggy headlands, crashing waves, sandy beaches and rocky tide pools …” So says Travel Oregon about the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway. To this list I would add temperate old growth forests, marine mammals, and seabirds.     What makes it even […]

Purple Martin Revival

Often you hear them before you see them. To me, Purple Martins are the blues singers of the swallows. They vocalize in loud, gravelly chirps combined with throaty warbling as they soar overhead like miniature purple-black jets in search of insects. When they are not in flight, you can find […]

Bears, Belugas and Birds: A Naturalist Journey to Churchill, Manitoba

Fascinating topography appeared outside my window on our 700-mile plane flight from Winnipeg to Churchill, Manitoba. Surrounding Winnipeg, Canada’s seventh-largest city, were huge quadrants of farmland in every direction, cut by two major rivers, the Red and Assiniboine, that join in downtown Winnipeg in an impressive central park called The […]

Salmonberry Bird/Swainson’s Thrush: Harbinger to Summer

  The ethereal, upwardly spiraling song of the Swainson’s Thrush provides the sound track of west side forests in the Pacific Northwest. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmMYVeE9QJw Coastal tribes referred to this thrush as the “Salmonberry Bird,” due to its annual arrival in May when Salmon Berries ripen. […]

Texas Gulf Coast/Hill Country Birds & Wildlife

  Why Texas as a birding destination?  Due to its large size, varied topography, vegetation and climate, its Gulf coast and geographic shape that serves as a funnel for migrations to and from central America, Texas is a great place for birds.  In fact, with 639 species, Texas has the […]

Once Endangered Birds Flock to Skagit Valley

Expressing gratitude is important in a world filled with bad news. This is especially true when it comes to the environment, where we are often faced with a sense of loss. We need to take note of success stories, where people armed with scientific data have acted boldly to save […]

Big Day at Txwxudaw

Chief Sealth, arguably the most famous member of the Duwamish Tribe, was namesake for the City of Seattle.  Txwxudaw was one of the largest Duwamish villages.   Recently, Lori and I were in the vicinity of the former village site near the Cedar River delta on the south shore of Lake […]