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The Summer Doldrums

10,000 Birds

Uncomfortable weather and a lack of birds make birders grumpy. What can a bird blogger do but try to write his way out of the summer doldrums? Sweat sticky and salty slips into my eyes, The sun beats down and my patience it tries, The birds go quiet or into disguise In the season I loathe and despise. Summer is horrid.

Downers 165
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How much bird is there, anyway?

10,000 Birds

I was looking out a car window the other day and noticed that of all the wildlife most of it was bird. A squirrel skittered by … a squirrel is not a bird. So the thought occurred to me that there is a lot of bird on the landscape, in terms of numbers of individuals as well as sheer biomass. Paul islands, studied by Darwin.

Mammals 182