10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2015

I began a program for PBS on a group of young kids in a small town in South Dakota. On Mother’s Day, an F2 Tornado hit the small town of Delmont, South Dakota. The next spring she reported that her first class was doing very well and were able to rapidly identify nearly 200 species. They did the right thing.

South Dakota 266

South Dakota Nebraska Missouri Killing 266

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2012

The species was extinct, a vanished part of the vanishing prairie — and not for the first time. In the 1950s the species was unofficially regarded as extinct by most biologists, a small part lost in the general tumble and disarray of the entire ecosystem they’d inhabited. You couldn’t see it. But the ferrets kept dying.

Ferrets 197

Ferrets South Dakota Wyoming Captive Animal 197

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2013

I wondered, last August, how animals endure it — the tiny ever-pumping lungs of hummingbirds, the lungs of bighorn sheep shouldering their way up mountains, they must get filled with smoke too, right? And I think this is a good move, the right move, even though part of me still welcomes the rain.

Endangered Species 163

Endangered Species South Dakota Woodpeckers Sheep 163

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2013

Two days ago I went on Facebook and queried some of my exhausted compatriots: if you could have one wish right now – anything in the world – what would it be? “I Self-cleaning pens, never-empty feed buckets,” wrote Angel in South Carolina and Zoe in California. “I’d God, we’re a selfish bunch, aren’t we?” High Technology.

Wildlife 253

Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Oklahoma New York 253

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

The flight shot of the male Eurasian, taken by Tom Dunkerton, shows the unique plumage that is completely diagnostic to that species. Although, these birds in Florida are pretty far south. Not so much anymore, but certainly this is a specialty species anywhere within it’s range. Check out some of these other wigeon shots.

Florida 173

Florida South Dakota Sparrows Wildlife 173

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2011

My mother, mother-in-law, and godmother are all visiting right now. Blair Cessna Mar 17th, 2011 at 3:01 pm I do most of my birdwatching right from my computer chair looking out my den window to my back yard. Turkeys, 3 or 4 species of woodpeckers, all kinds of song birds grace our view constantly. Wicked, right?

2011 150

2011 Deer Birds South Dakota 150

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2018

With Wyoming and South Dakota in our rear view mirror, we look toward Colorado, and a hot spot I have been anxious to visit. One morning, I woke up to see a White-breasted Nuthatch in the tree right behind our 5th wheel, but before I could get out there with my camera, it was gone, never to see seen in the next three days.

Colorado 113

Colorado Texas Trinidad Albuquerque 113