We never used to be sad. Of course, that was before the oil started gushing.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
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!
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
I spend most of the year along the sandy beaches or shell-strewn beaches of the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. I fly above the waters searching out tasty fish and then bask on the beach among beachcombers of all kinds. I love my life here.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
I love catching fish in the beautiful marshes and ponds along the Gulf of Mexico. Some of us live here year-round, raising our babies in this richly wondrous habitat. Others come down for the winter, when it's such a fun and sociable place--the best home a bird could ask for.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
Some members of my species spend the winter along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana. A lot of us spend the entire year along the Gulf in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. We love flying about rattling our whereabouts to one another and perching above a quiet pool, looking for tasty little fish. I love my life here.
Lie still, sleep becalmed, sufferer with the wound
by Dylan Thomas
Lie still, sleep becalmed, sufferer with the wound
In the throat, burning and turning. All night afloat
On the silent sea we have heard the sound
That came from the wound wrapped in the salt sheet.
Under the mile off moon we trembled listening
To the sea sound flowing like blood from the loud wound
And when the salt sheet broke in a storm of singing
The voices of all the drowned swam on the wind.
Open a pathway through the slow sad sail,
Throw wide to the wind the gates of the wandering boat
For my voyage to begin to the end of my wound,
We heard the sea sound sing, we saw the salt sheet tell.
Lie still, sleep becalmed, hide the mouth in the throat,
Or we shall obey, and ride with you through the drowned.
We're not the Gulf of Mexico...
...but it was really nice of BP to include us in their nearly 600-page spill response plan.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
I love searching out seeds and other yummy items in the marshy areas and rice paddies along the Gulf Coast. I love my rich and splendid home.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
We Reddish Egrets are North America's rarest and least known herons. We live in coastal lagoons of the Gulf Coast states. I love dancing in these brackish waters, flicking my wings, holding my wings outstretched, or merely running about, all while carefully watching the water. When fish notice all the activity and try to get away, look out! That's when I strike. Yum, yum. I love my life in these beautiful waters.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
I love my life in the soft mud and sand along sea beaches and brackish inter-tidal mudflats, lagoons, and swamps. My species provides food for birds, and we take our yummy food items from detritus (hahahah--including bird poop!), and play a vital role in preserving wetland environments, because as we sift through sands and mud, we keep these sands and muds aerated, preventing yucky anaerobic conditions. I love my home.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
I spend my autumns and winters in its rich waters, eating tasty fish and crustaceans. I love my home.
Monday, June 14, 2010
We're the Gulf of Mexico
We love floating in the water waiting for a nice, tasty turtle or bird to pass by. We love our home.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
The wondrous hardwood trees in coastal swamps and bottomlands--now that's a place where we Red-eyed Vireos can settle in and raise our babies. This insect-rich habitat is a lovely place to spend the breeding season, and many of us hug the coast as we migrate to Central and South America so we can find plenty of food to fuel our journeys. I love my home.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
I, too, am the Gulf of Mexico
Coastal lands are rich and supply many of us mammals with nourishment and shelter.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
We Great Egrets think our home could be called the Great Gulf of Mexico. Rich with fish, frogs, crustaceans--who could ask for anything more? The Gulf of Mexico is the right place to raise children, and the right place to live out our days. I love my home.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
I love diving straight into the rich waters of the Gulf of Mexico for tasty, nutritious fish. I love making tourists happy. I love my many friends and neighbors. I'm grateful that people here worked so tirelessly to get me off the Endangered Species List. I'm happy to be alive and well in the heart of my home here in the Gulf of Mexico.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
Many of us Wood Thrushes rest and replenish ourselves in the rich woodlands along the Gulf of Mexico during our migrations. A few of us even stay the winter in this splendid area. I love spending an essential part of my life there!
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
I feed on tasty critters I find beneath me in lovely Gulf swamps. I love my home.
Friday, June 11, 2010
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
I love beachcombing and laughing at tourists and sharing their picnics and visiting boaters and riding the waves. I love everything about my life here.
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
Well, I was the Gulf of Mexico. We Wood Storks--the only storks in North America--used to breed in Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama. Some of us still breed in the Florida Panhandle and along the Peninsula. Wish us luck!
I'm the Gulf of Mexico
I feed on luscious crustaceans year-round on beaches and in marshes. With an occasional stop at a nearby McDonald's just because. I love my life here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)