Recently, I marveled at the sight of Bushtits squeezing in and out of a perfectly-sized hole in one of their remarkable thatched nests. These very small drab, gray birds with long tails build incredible nests like the one shown at the top of the page. Picture these little birds fabricating […]
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“Looking up from the flatlands, birds and clouds floating by…I’d say that heaven’s a thousand feet high. It’s my home in the sky, my home in the sky, hawk makes a circle through which swallows fly.” -Greg Brown A lot of people look down these days, at phones, IPODs and […]
Each year, some 150,000 Magellanic Penguins nest on Magdalena Island in the Straits of Magellan off the southern tip of South America. To see them, my family and I took a covered zodiac on a rough 10-mile or so crossing to the small windblown island. Thanks to Dramamine and […]
Since the massive earthquake that struck Chile last month there are still daily aftershocks. We felt four of them during our recent stay in the Valparaiso area (damage from big quake shown in top photo). One particularly strong aftershock triggered an interesting reaction from some local avian residents. At 4:35 […]
What was a cute little owl like this doing in a place like downtown Renton? This Burrowing Owl spent several days perched in a small cherry tree nestled up against the Renton Post Office. Many people paid it a visit ranging from postal workers (who apparently reported it on Tweeters.com), […]
One of the greatest yet unheralded pleasures is counting birds in your back yard. It is free, requires no travel and is therapeutic. Here’s how it works: Go outside, preferably in the early morning. Dress for the weather and bring four things: a cup of coffee, binoculars, a note pad […]
When I worked at The Nature Conservancy in the 1990s, we were controlling invasive species and managing lands for their natural diversity. At the time, those of us engaged in this work felt lonely and overwhelmed by the scale of the problem. But a remarkable shift has happened since […]
Long ago, a Midwestern boy was assigned patrol duty at his elementary school. His crossing was the farthest one from the school in a peaceful area overhung by Crabapple trees. One fall morning during a lull in crossing activity, he noticed birds moving through one of the Crabapple trees. […]
While visiting snowy DC last week, my daughter and I took in a Charles Darwin exhibit at the Smithsonian. As we strolled through I wondered if we humans have evolved — not in a physical way but rather in our treatment of one-another and the planet. Here are two […]
photo by Jeff Larsen As I write this, I am being serenaded by the bubbly song of a House Finch just outside my window. You might be hearing this song too. House Finches are currently among the most prolific singers. These cheerful, colorful birds that frequent our yards and feeders […]