conservation, the environment, climate change, birds and birding
This blog, combined with Memories of the People, my other blog focused on Native issues, will be slowly moving to my new Substack. It offers more options for the reader and is easier to manage from my end. Everything will be free, … Continue reading →
At this plantation, the slaves are invisible. I’m cross-posting from my other blog:
There are a lot of opportunities to benefit the birds in your neighborhood. Here are some basic principles, focusing on habitat, bird feeders, and bird houses and nesting. I focus on the Pacific Northwest, but this can be generally applied … Continue reading →
Here’s my dive into the fine print — corroborated with input from the USFWS and Spotted Owl surveyors — into the supposed plan to shoot 450,000 Barred Owls over the next 30 years. It’s not going to happen. My article … Continue reading →
There are no Indigenous words for these birds in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Sailors called them “boobies,” meaning stupid, because they were unafraid of people. They are large, colorful, tropical seabirds, historically only found at the southern edges of the … Continue reading →
This was the expression hurled at many of us on a local birding listserv. The ironic thing is, we didn’t start the conversation. We simply intervened. The original topic was bird names – the proposal to change the names of … Continue reading →
Entitled The Birds That Audubon Missed, Kenn Kaufman‘s new book is about much more than just those birds and John James Audubon. What Song of the Dodo was to ecology, this book is to American ornithology – an often fascinating and rollicking tale … Continue reading →
There are 21 subspecies of Spotted Towhees, but only three of them occur in the Pacific Northwest. Even then, there is confusion. Our local oregonus birds, like so many PNW subspecies, are dark and dusky. I call them Nearly-spotless Towhees. … Continue reading →
I realize a lot of people are pretty burnt out on this issue, myself included. But, in the face of persistent efforts by detractors to petition the AOS for a case-by-case approach to bird name changes, some important backstory is … Continue reading →
Before I get into this, here is a little bit about me. My pronouns are he/him. I am a citizen of Cherokee Nation and white-presenting (that is, I look like a white male). 1. Everyone likes birds. Everyone. Regardless of … Continue reading →