Jan
11
2011
Winter has taken a firm grip on Montana, snow is falling and the birding has slowed as it is the in-between time – fall migrants have long since passed and winter irruptives have not appeared yet. During this time of year, I spend a lot of time inside near the fire thinking about birds and …
Jan
05
2011
Recently on Montana Online Birders (MOB) there has been an ongoing conversation centered around whether or not it is ethical to publicly disclose the precise locations of falcons due to the threat of their being captured by falconers. The thread went predictably, which is to say that the discussion flowed from the ethics of licensed …
Nov
10
2010
This past autumn, I had the great pleasure of meeting E.O. Wilson, who is one of my personal science heroes. Dr. Wilson has spent a lifetime of research on ants and biodiversity. However, unlike most researchers this Southern gentleman has the unique ability to communicate his research to a lay audience.
Nov
09
2010
Nothingness. Absolutely nothingness. My senses are disconnected as if a switch had been thrown. My eyes see only black, and no breeze blows over my skin. It is so quiet that I strain to hear even my heartbeat in my ears. Yet, I do sense a presence every once in awhile. It rushes past my …
Oct
26
2010
Bill sits gingerly with more weight on one ass cheek than the other as he has just had a hip replacement. The lifetime of abuse evidenced by an almost completely fused joint. His face and hands are topographic map of crisscrossed canyons of flesh that tell the story of many years spent in the sun, …
Jul
22
2010
For the better part of a week, I have been reading about a lot of turmoil. The kind of things that make your gut twist and your anger boil. Oiled birds along the Gulf Coast and the effectiveness of rehab efforts. News of declining populations around the globe. The intrigue and gossip column-like story of …
May
11
2010
This past weekend was a long one that was full of birds and Buddhism. The weekend kicked off with a day of birding with Jim Heflich, a birder up from Ohio via a week-long backpacking trip in Yellowstone. The plan was to travel down to Ennis Lake for waterfowl and other water-associated birds, then Pony …
May
05
2010
Here is a segment from my presentation in Livingston, MT for the International Migratory Bird Day Festival. I am discussing Brown-headed Cowbird nest parasitism in relation to my larger topic of Birds, Habitat & Conservation.
Apr
26
2010
Waking up on Saturday morning, I went down to the old reliable birding spot. The birds present were the usual cast of characters. You know Canada Geese, Mallards, Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, Cinnamon Teals, and American Coots. The hordes of male Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds called from the cattails. The first female Red-winged Blackbirds had also …
Apr
18
2010
The weekend started off with going to Cottonwood Reservoir for a little birdingwith Sam Koenen. Ok, ok, a lot of birding. This little hotspot did not disappoint. The first birds out of the truck were Greater Scaup and Double-crested Cormorant. The reservoir held quite a few species with highlights being Ruddy Ducks, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Eared …
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