10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2013

We have a simple solution to raise more money for the National Wildlife Refuge System. This just doesn’t seem like rocket science to me. million hunters. This means that only 11% of hunters buy the Duck Stamp raising approximately $25 million a year. A lot more money! Let’s look at some facts.

Ducks 184

Ducks Wildlife Hunters Hunting 184

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 254

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 254

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 243

2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 243

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. Or the absence of legal protection. I think this is one of the reasons I enjoy reading his books.

2014 161

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

Maybe those should be protected too? Given that the Black Kite is politely described as an “opportunistic hunter” – which includes the fact that they are more likely to scavenge than most other raptors – the name choice of the company protecting the world’s cyber ecosystem is a bit weird.

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130