10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

My initial reaction was, “Really, dude, of all the birds that you’re allowed to have in Wisconsin, you choose the bird that is going to make birders who don’t understand falconry angry?” All apprentice falconers are allowed only 1 of 2 species: American Kestrel or Red-tailed Hawk. I personally am on the fence.

Wisconsin 244

Wisconsin Falcons Owls Hunting 244

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2011

The bold gray-and-white birds know what humans are good for and that is as a source of food! Gray Jays have long been more than willing to scarf down the offal that remains when hunters process a carcass so it is little wonder that they have adapted their foraging habits to include whatever scraps picnickers are willing to share.

Washington 172

Washington Wisconsin Michigan Minnesota 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

The idea of Lost Animals was conceived after the publication of Extinct Birds (2001), a 400-page, four-pound book on 75 extinct species. Passenger Pigeon chick in aviary, 1896, photographer’s identification uncertain, photo now property of the Historical Society of Wisconsin, p. Other species are less known.

Animal 268

Animal Mammals Hawaii Dolphins 268

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? It may be as sick as deliberately targeting an endangered species for death.

2011 242

2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 242

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

It is the 100th Anniversary of the extinction of the species known as the Passenger Pigeon and writers are paying attention. Errol Fuller’s The Passenger Pigeon is a beautifully illustrated, elegantly written “celebration” of the passenger pigeon and the artists who illustrated and photographed the species.

2014 160

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 160

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2018

.” Contemporary environmentalism arrived too late to prevent the passenger pigeon’s demise due to market hunters, but the two phenomena share a historical connection. Even with today’s environmental laws, we are losing species at an alarming rate, and with Ryan Zinke as Interior Secretary it’s no wonder.

Hunting 111

Hunting Hunters Gorillas Wolves 111