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Gaining independence in 1990, Namibia is one of Africa’s “newer” nations, although not quite as newborn as South Sudan which has yet to celebrate its first anniversary! Before self-rule it was administered by South Africa and known as South-West Africa. However, Namibia’s colonial history began earlier, in 1884 when it was annexed by the Germans. After a brutal colonization that included genocidal campaigns against the Herero (80% killed) and Nama (50% killed) tribes, the Germans lost control wh
Starting on Thursday, June 21, Cesar will be holding a 3-day BlogPaws Twitter Party with the hashtag #sharethejoy! You can join the fun by sharing special moments, photos, and videos, and anything else you can think of that matches the theme of sharing the joy! There are some special perks for those who participate too! Everyone who participates in #sharethejoy @CesarCuisine will recieve a DM to send a care package of Savory Delights, before it is available in stores – this will only be av
Issue Date: 2012-06-25. Author: Janet C. Jessen. Teaser: In far too many companies the marketing function has been misunderstood, minimized or marginalized. Marketing communications and sales literature are important, but they’re only part of a much larger picture. In far too many companies the marketing function has been misunderstood, minimized or marginalized.
Unlike [John] Rawls, whose considered views on our duties regarding animals are unclear at best, [Immanuel] Kant provides us with an explicit statement of an indirect duty view. That Kant should hold such a view should not be surprising; it is a direct consequence of his moral theory, the main outlines of which may be briefly, albeit crudely, summarized.
The kids can’t get enough of this stuff. “Who’s ever seen an x-ray?” I ask. “Anyone ever broken a bone?” Hands shoot up. “Here is an x-ray of a bird,” I say. “It’s a really big bird. Any guesses?” A ghostly image appears on the screen. The kids’ eyes widen. Hands raise and wave. Once we’ve established that it’s a Golden Eagle, I ask the ten-million dollar question.
Do you grow tired of lugging a camera into the field on the off chance you’ll see something you need to document? Have you messed around with your iPhone, holding it up to your binoculars or scope, hoping to get a decent image but constantly being frustrated by vignetting and the sheer difficulty of getting your iPhone in the exact right spot?
Do you grow tired of lugging a camera into the field on the off chance you’ll see something you need to document? Have you messed around with your iPhone, holding it up to your binoculars or scope, hoping to get a decent image but constantly being frustrated by vignetting and the sheer difficulty of getting your iPhone in the exact right spot?
Birding’s Holy Grails. They lurk ever-present in our sub-concious as sacred items on an unobtainable, yet highly desirable, list. We pour over photographs, read with envy the eye-witness accounts of the “lucky ones” and fabricate secret plans to abandon our loved ones and embark on expensive trips to track them down. For many birders, the Pel’s Fishing Owl roosts in a lofty position on just such a list.
Last year 10,000 Birds celebrated Wood Warbler Week , which gave me an opportunity to describe exactly what a Wood Warbler (aka Phylloscopus sibilatrix ) really was. And to inform North Americans that their so-called wood warblers would be more aptly named Silly-Canaries. Despite fairly convincing arguments, it seems the entire North American ornithological community has completely ignored all logic and we have yet to see any major changes in naming logic.
At the onset of this post, let me firmly state that I love taxonomy. I even attended taxonomy classes at university. Biogeography, speciation, splitting, lumping, all that jazz really sets my boat afloat (well, the lumping not so much). I also love bird identification. And I believe there’s a place for taxonomy, and there’s a place for bird identification.
What do you say when someone tells you they will be spending the summer in the Lower Michigan Peninsula? If you are a birder, you say “Kirtland’s Warbler!” likely scaring the poor non-birder telling you her vacation plans. Yes, the warbler formerly known as Dendroica kirtlandii , now Setophaga kirtlandii , is one of those birds that make birders’ hearts pulse quicker and their legs churn faster.
A cherished handful of Central and South American locations enjoy international renown as absolutely mandatory destinations for adventurous bird watchers and nature lovers. Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad holds a prominent position on that list of luminaries. As a card-carrying member of this famed ecolodge’s target audience, I’ve always knownI would eventually visit.
The water this Northern Pintail is in has human poo in it, which completely ruins the experience of seeing this bird. Oh wait, it doesn’t. Radio Road, Redwood Shores, CA. The majority of diehard birders do not care where they get their birds. Slaty-backed Gull at a dump, Baikal Teal at a sewage pond, Yellow-green Vireo at some random park in the ghetto…if a place collects birds, birders will go there.
Back in January I finally completed the North American scrub jay trifecta – Western Scrub Jay , Island Scrub Jay , and Florida Scrub Jay. The latter bird was the one that I had been missing but a visit to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge during the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival fixed that. Of course, it was only in 1996 that the three scrub jays were split and there might yet be further splits, as Western Scrub Jay may someday become Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay , Califor
Following Duncan’s post about the Fabulous Fairy-wrens , you may be forgiven for wondering how many exceptional adjectives can be used in naming one genus of birds. The Malurus clan must be a contender as the most gushingly named group, including as it does, the Lovely Fairy-wren , the Splendid Fairy-wren and the Superb Fairy-wren. The other family notorious for its excitable nomenclature is the Birds of Paradise which include among their number the Bloomin’ Gorgeous Bird of Paradi
Navigated 360° tours, like YourVRTours, advance pipelines by engaging clients further along the sales funnel. These immersive experiences provide comprehensive property insights, increasing buyer intent and readiness. By embracing navigated tours, agents can optimize property exposure, better qualify leads, and streamline the sales process. Stay ahead in the ever-evolving real estate landscape with innovative technology that elevates buyer journeys and progresses pipelines more effectively.
The latest news from IUCN Redlist regarding birds is not good. The risk of extinction for Amazonian birds has increased substantially: 07 June 2012 The risk of extinction has increased substantially for nearly 100 species of Amazonian birds, reveals the 2012 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ update for birds released today by BirdLife International.
Emotion. Drama. Intrigue. Philosophy. Yes, I’m talking about scientific proposals to ornithological taxonomic authorities. Take, for example, the gem I found in the latest round of proposals to the American Ornithologists’ Union’s North American Classification Committee. The proposal, titled “Change English name of Columbina inca from Inca Dove to Aztec Dove,” begins thus: “I’m serious.” Oh, honey. “[Inca Dove is] a completely misleading, non
Kazakhstan, May 2009 During the two days spent out in the steppe in Kazakhstan I couldn’t help but notice the sheer number of flowers that dotted the grassy steppe. It seemed that anywhere one looked some kind of flower, whether it was an iris, a tulip, or something else, was blooming. So when we were on our way out of the Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve and it was announced that we were making a stop to see tulips I was kind of surprised because we had been seeing tulips rather regularl
There are few families of birds as bewitching as the birds-of-paradise. They are feathered jewels with extraordinary breeding dances almost unrivalled in the bird world. They have been a crucial part of the culture of the islands and forests where they are found for the last 50,000 years, and were amongst the first animals of the East to make it back to Europe with the earliest Portugese and Spanish explorations.
Everyone probably knows the story of how the European Starling ( Sturnus vulgaris ) came to the shores of America during the 19th century, but for those who don’t, this is how it goes. The American Acclimatization Society was a group founded in New York City in 1871 dedicated to introducing European flora and fauna into North America for “both economic and cultural reasons. 1 ” By 1877 New York pharmacist Eugene Schieffelin, an avid admirer of Shakespeare, was the society’
In my previous blog Bird Photography Equipment Lens and filters I compared two telephotos which I use regularly, the 300 f/4 IS USM which is an excellent prime lens, and the 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM is the best zoom lens commonly used for bird photography. I also tried the Canon Extender EF 1.4X II and found that the 300 f/4 worked well but the image quality was never superior that the 300 f/4 by itself.
Rik Davis was a legend. And he touched and inspired more people than many of us will ever meet. I did not know Rik and I am poorly equiped to write very much about him. But he did touch my life. For what seems like decades, I have been hearing about Pale Male and the people that have studied, loved and fought for him and his family over the years. And one of the names that was invariably brought up at the same name, was that of Rik Davis.
I recently changed jobs. I went from being a part-time National Park Ranger and freelancer to a full-time Avian Field Ecologist. This title basically means I get paid to watch birds (like the above Indigo Bunting I digiscoped with my iPhone and Swarovsksi Scope) before wind farms, solar panels and pipelines go under construction (or sometimes I get to id bird parts found post construction).
If you haven’t been to Trinidad and Tobago, you’re missing out on a country that combines many of the best qualities of the Caribbean and South America. One attribute endowed in T&T by its geological parent Venezuela is a deep diversity of avifauna, including a lot of South American specialties. So it should come as no surprise that Southern Lapwings abound there.
One day my wildlife rehabilitator friend Marilyn brought me a black shoebox decorated with 6 or 8 quarter-sized holes. Energetically sticking his head out, then in, then back out a different hole was a vaguely sinister-looking brown bird, obviously outraged that someone had the nerve to put him in there. “He thinks he’s a cuckoo,” said Marilyn. Harley the Starley was a young European Starling.
Riffing off my last post about places… here is a series of birds in their environments. If you’re ever caught out with a short lens or the birds are just too far away, you can still get good shots that tell the wider story. Above, a Burrowing Owl near the Salton Sea. A Western Meadowlark floats near San Francisco Bay. A Wilson’s Warbler in the reeds at a lake’s edge.
Looking for birds means we go where the birds are. Every once in a while, when it gets quiet, I look around and marvel at the places birds have dragged me out into. Here are a few. (in the comments, please share links to any photos you’ve taken of the wonderful places birds have led you) Light blooms at dusk near Mono Lake. Common Nighthawks and Violet-green Swallows abound.
This story comes from Lisa Kelly, a wildlife rehabilitator in Tarrytown, New York, by way of Maggie Ciarcia, a rehabber in the nearby town of Somers. Maggie received a call one morning from an elderly woman named Katherine. Katherine lives in a senior residence, which she refers to as “the facility,” near the Hudson River. “My friend and I are standing here in the facility,” said Katherine.
The White-backed Woodpecker is the hardest resident woodpecker to find in Europe. Dendrocopos leucotos is absent from western Europe but is found in northern, central, and eastern Europe and across Asia as far east as Japan and Korea. It requires large stands of mature forest with lots of dead and dying trees, so managed forests are often unattractive to it.
An interesting–or perhaps enervating–aspect of this time of year is how birding tends to run feast or famine. That is to say that, at least in the temperate regions, those of us who aren’t traveling somewhere special have to make do with the same old same old. Corey and I both pondered birds that are extremely ordinary for us. I enjoyed chattering Chimney Swifts while taking in tremendous bands at the Rochester International Jazz Festival.
What is there to say about a post that is essentially a gallery of Willets in flight? On the ground Willets are a bland bird but when they take to wing they are striking! The black and white flashing wings can be mesmerizing and that combined with their “pill-willet pill-willet pill-willet” cries make them noticeable and unmistakable even from long range.
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