We chickadees have absolutely no constitutional rights. But we can fly freely without anyone X-raying or groping us.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
People can see those other chickadees anywhere.
C'mon up to the Sax Zim Bog Birding Festival to see ME!
Hey--come on up and visit ME!
I love the Sax-Zim Bog Birding Festival. Some of those other owls are shy around people, but not us Northern Hawk Owls. Come on up and visit!
Not so very angry, but still...
So I'm on a very limited budget. But I know what I'm getting all my friends this year. Not that I have anything against pigs, but this is fun.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Gotta hand it to Bernie Sanders
He can talk way longer without a break than I can. He repeats less than I do, too. But just like me, he tells it like it is.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The right side of the window
Birds wish ALL cats were on that side of the window. Us squirrels, too!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Keeping white feathers white
I'm rather proud of my plumage, if I do say so myself. Anyone have any suggestions for keeping it beautiful this winter in the Gulf?
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The world seems like a wonderful place to be!
Mommy and Daddy are catching fish for me, and also teaching me how to find and catch my own. And they're showing me how to protect myself from danger. They've been alive for many years, and know everything loons need to know to survive. They said sometimes we get a storm or Bad Thing, but they also said that when I made it to the Gulf of Mexico this fall, it would be really fun and exciting, and I'd know just how to deal with any problems I encountered. What could be better? Yep--earth's the right place for me!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Thought I'd give people a treat!
We Alder Flycatchers don't usually pose for photos. But heck--we're as beautiful as any, in my opinion, so I decided it was time to let a photographer see me up close and personal. Click on the photo and view "all sizes" to see how close I let her in. And after you look, please go away.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Idyllic summer
I sure hope the oil gusher is over, and everything is cleaned up, by the time I head down to the tropics. I can't afford gas masks for me, my mate, and our chicks.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Why did people name us the "Mourning Warbler"?
We never used to be sad. Of course, that was before the oil started gushing.
Hey--could you get that tick for me?
The dang thing is between my eye and my ear. Well, there are a few in there. They drive me nuts!!
Old Sam Peabody?
Never heard of him! Can't you people figure out that I'm calling to my sweetheart, not some old codger?
Friday, June 25, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Birds do it, bees do it...
Even educated water striders do it.
We're so educated that we even understand what surface tension is all about.
We're so educated that we even understand what surface tension is all about.
Dammit! Slow down!
What's the big rush? Slowing down saves gas AND saves birds from this tragic and pointless fate.
Aw, come on, lady!
Do you have to snap the photo the very moment I'm pooping??!! Or couldn't you at least crop it out?
I'm caught in the web of life!
Or maybe just the web of a spider. But there's some tasty bugs in here!
I love WXPR!
Great music and great people--that's why I hang out around the Juneberry bush right outside the station!
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
My species is dwindling, which is tough enough. But we concentrate along the Gulf during migration. We'll need a lot of luck this year, and next, and for at least a decade.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
People don't think of us orioles as coastal birds. We nest away from the Gulf of Mexico, and winter in Central and South America. But almost all of us find ourselves along the Gulf Coast during our journeys from here to there. It's a friendly environment (well, except for those friggin' hawks migrating at the same time), and a happenin' place--swampy woods along the coast are the right place to pig out on bugs and fruits before lighting out for the territory.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
A lot of us live in coastal marshes year-round, and others join in during fall and winter. These marshes are fantastic--filled with food and camaraderie, the right place to raise families and give our young their first experiences with cooperative flocking life. We males get territorial during the nesting season, but only on our nesting territories--on our shared feeding grounds, we all get along just peachy. The Gulf is our home, and we love it.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
Flying with abandon over marshes and estuaries. The Gulf of Mexico is my treasured winter home. I head there with my mate and our young every autumn, along with millions of our friends. We feed on mosquitoes and other flying insects, and sometimes snack on berries as well. We love our home.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
Ahhh, marshes! What perfect places to raise babies and spend our days. Lots of bugs to eat, plenty of friendly neighbors, beautiful neighborhood. Who could ask for more?
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
No matter where I go, animals are dying--hit by cars, wounded by predators or hunters to die elsewhere, poisoned, or whatever. And when anything dies, unless it gets eaten, it starts to rot. I smell 'em out and clean up the mess. That's not just a job--it's a vocation. Who else can boast that by eating dinner they're cleaning the world and protecting people from dangerous pathogens?
I love my life.
I love my life.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
Warm waters for fishing and tall trees for nesting. The Gulf Coast is heaven here on earth.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
Many of us Bald Eagles spend our entire year in Florida, including along the Gulf Coast. And those of us who breed in the north often head down to the Gulf for the winter. Fish! Balmy weather (well, in between the hurricanes!). Fish! Beautiful surroundings. Fish!
Yep. We love our home.
Yep. We love our home.
That "can do" American spirit
I'm red, white, and blue, and that means I'm a true American through and through. I'm also self-sufficient--I'm not even on the power grid!!!
Some of us Eastern Bluebirds raise our babies near the Gulf of Mexico, and a whole lot more of us winter down there or at least pass through during migration. We love that place. And we have to protect it! Unfortunately, bluebirds can't reduce our electricity usage, because DUH--we're already down to zero. So we need humans to do this for us.
How did Americans defeat the Nazis and the nation that attacked us at Pearl Harbor? Not by thinking, "Oh, no! There's nothing we can do!" We rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Our president reminded us not to be afraid, made us sacrifice (rationing, shortages of a lot of cool stuff like nylon stockings), and fought against profiteering corporations. Let's get back into that mindset! Let's use electricity as if it were a finite and precious resource, not as if it were water. Oh, wait--that, too, is a finite and precious resource. Oh, man--we've got a big job ahead of us!
Some of us Eastern Bluebirds raise our babies near the Gulf of Mexico, and a whole lot more of us winter down there or at least pass through during migration. We love that place. And we have to protect it! Unfortunately, bluebirds can't reduce our electricity usage, because DUH--we're already down to zero. So we need humans to do this for us.
How did Americans defeat the Nazis and the nation that attacked us at Pearl Harbor? Not by thinking, "Oh, no! There's nothing we can do!" We rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Our president reminded us not to be afraid, made us sacrifice (rationing, shortages of a lot of cool stuff like nylon stockings), and fought against profiteering corporations. Let's get back into that mindset! Let's use electricity as if it were a finite and precious resource, not as if it were water. Oh, wait--that, too, is a finite and precious resource. Oh, man--we've got a big job ahead of us!
Save at least one gallon of gas a week.
Look, someone has to start telling people how to help, and that might as well be me. If every single adult American human could save just one gallon of gas a week, that would add up to 228 million gallons of gas a week, or over a BILLION gallons of gas every month. Imagine that! And cutting back by just one lousy gallon of gas a week wouldn't be much of a sacrifice, would it?
(This is based on the 2008 total of 228,182,000 adults in America. Of course, no matter how hard some people try to save energy, others are going to be pigs. A total of about 250,000 Hummers were sold between 2002 and 2008, and I presume people who bought those don't care about either birds or people in the Gulf of Mexico enough to cut back their personal oil usage. But still. Even if 3,182,000 "adults" refused to save one gallon of gas a week, we'd still reach a billion gallons saved every month. Just think if we could double, or triple, or quadruple that!)
(This is based on the 2008 total of 228,182,000 adults in America. Of course, no matter how hard some people try to save energy, others are going to be pigs. A total of about 250,000 Hummers were sold between 2002 and 2008, and I presume people who bought those don't care about either birds or people in the Gulf of Mexico enough to cut back their personal oil usage. But still. Even if 3,182,000 "adults" refused to save one gallon of gas a week, we'd still reach a billion gallons saved every month. Just think if we could double, or triple, or quadruple that!)
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
Some people think we cardinals only live in backyards, but some of us live in marshy areas along the Gulf. The thick, rich vegetation has an abundance of insects, which our babies need to grow strong bodies. I love my home.
We're the Gulf of Mexico
We Tricolored Herons were once called Louisiana Herons. Louisiana is a splendid place to grow up, but we can be found throughout the Gulf Coast and up a little bit of the Atlantic. This is the perfect place to grow up. We get to spend our time looking all about, learning about our special homes while our mom and dad search out food for us. The abundance of yummy fish here help us grow big and strong. I love our world.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
Some of us kingbirds breed in open areas near the Gulf. But virtually all of us spend time along the Gulf on migration. During spring migration we gravitate to the wonderful marshy meadow habitats on the barrier islands off the Gulf Coast--they're right where we need to rest and feed after an arduous flight. In fall we love pine-scrub where we can fatten up on fruits before finishing the longest part of our migration, all the way down to South America. What a wonderful planet we live on, to have the rich Gulf of Mexico right where we need it!
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