10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

Between staying warm/cool, finding food, avoiding predators, migrating thousands of miles every year, finding mates, raising chicks and doing all this at the mercy of the elements, it makes sense that they have more brainpower than just simple instinct to run on. I believe in science. Science, for many years, has done no better.

Emotional 222

Emotional Science Birds Mammals 222

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

The species readily takes to nesting in small artificial boxes, and the scientists of PRBO Conservation Science have over 450 such boxes scattered across the island to monitor the species. Unique among the auks, indeed among seabirds, they will attempt to double brood, to lay another clutch after successfully raising the first chick.

Eggs 167

Eggs Puffins Breeding Raised 167

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

The chapter on Martha, for example, just shows a close-up of her stuff body–not the whole body, the torso and tail–against an almost-black background. This bit of science is a nice final counterpoint to an account that has emphasized art, history, and literature. Can I say that this is a beautiful book?

2014 162

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

For my new book, due out in 2012 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I’ve been researching sandhill crane hunting. I would encourage the KDFW to take Tennessee’s example as an indication that offering sandhill cranes for hunting will create far more public relations trouble than it’s worth.

2011 258

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 258

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2011

Way back when I started what turned out to be my thesis research (on humans), it became important for me to learn about bird migration. I was involved in the study of human movement and navigation on land, and there was a lot of research coming out about bird navigation. Another question this raises has to do with migration itself.

Research 206

Research Humane Compassion New York 206

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

I am not sure about the security situation in Iraq these days but at least some people do ornithological research there – resulting in papers such as one titled “Breeding observations of the Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (Desfontaines , 1789) in Iraq” Impressive. Fortunately, they are quite common in Shanghai.

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Given the complexity of the research, the result feels like a bit of a letdown – “northern populations start migration earlier than southern populations, especially in autumn” The species name of the Chestnut-eared Bunting is fucata , from the Latin “fucare”, to paint red.

Birds 230

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 230

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2022

I have written about the interesting sex life of these jacanas a few times already (short version: female mates with male, lays a bunch of eggs for him to incubate and raise the chicks, leaves him, finds another male, repeat). But it is all for science, I hear them say.

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147