10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Nationwide, wildlife watchers now outspend hunters 6 to 1. Of the Central Flyway states, Nebraska alone holds out in protecting the cranes, having proven by its longstanding Festival of the Cranes in Kearney that a crane is worth infinitely more alive and purring in the sky with its family than thudding, broken and bleeding, into a cornfield.

2011 263

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

So, one might surmise, it’s OK if they get shot by hunters thinking they’re sandhill cranes? What could motivate gunmen (I cannot call them hunters) in two states to deliberately kill North America’s tallest and most critically endangered bird? Do all hunters realize that? It gives one to wonder why this designation was made.

2011 244

2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 244

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

This bit of science is a nice final counterpoint to an account that has emphasized art, history, and literature. He effectively brings his point across by presenting facts and images and a little bit of hard science. It is a haunting tale, and if you want a readable, engrossing but not lengthy account, I highly recommend this book.

2014 166

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 166

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2015

Pickrell, an Australian science writer who grew up in Great Britain and studied for his master’s degree at London’s Natural History Museum, is clearly engaged with his subject. There is a lot of science here to explain. Huxley, an evolutionary biologist, that birds evolved from dinosaurs, but it was still a rocky ride. No collarbones!

Mongolia 213

Mongolia Science Reptiles Indiana 213