10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2019

Of course, the California Condor is listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and it has been famously subject to some of the most ambitious conservation efforts (including litigation ) ever undertaken for a bird. But condors have not been in the Pacific Northwest for more than a century.

California Condor 248

California Condor California Endangered Species Oregon 248

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

In fact, the overwhelming majority of federal land is in just 11 western states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). For example, the federal government owns less than 1% in Connecticut but nearly 80% in Nevada. There is one gigantic outlier: Alaska.

Virgin Islands 256

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Nevada 256

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2013

A week ago today, the federal government proposed a “threatened” listing for the Greater Sage Grouse in Nevada and California , as part of a larger study considering whether the species as a whole should be listed. Conservation Endangered Species Act Greater Sage Grouse sage-grouse'

Nevada 166

Nevada Endangered Species Montana Humane 166

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2014

To protect this woodpecker and the post-fire ecosystems it depends on throughout California, in September 2010 the Center for Biological Diversity and the John Muir Project petitioned to list the bird under the California Endangered Species Act, earning it “candidate” status in the state, which does offer some protections for the bird.

Woodpeckers 187

Woodpeckers California South Dakota Chad 187

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

I was fortunate to rack up a number of lifers in 2013, both at home and abroad ( Varied Thrush in Washington, Brewer’s Blackbirds in California, Burrowing Owl in the Nevada desert). But by far the best was witnessing the autumn migration of Sandhill Cranes.

2013 169

2013 Costa Rica Birds India 169