Birds
The color ball shot along the watercourse, disappearing in the reeds. It was small, maybe baseball-sized. Our boatman slowed the wooden canoe to a crawl, and we drifted along the ten-foot-high papyrus reeds. The narrow channel was our avenue into the interior of Mabamba Swamp, a spectacular wetland along the edge of Lake Victoria. We’d … Read more
In 1980, we organized a Birds of the World course while I was in graduate school. The goal was to survey birds’ taxonomic orders and families and learn about their ecology, behaviors, and distribution. Glen Woolfenden, our major professor, had a moderately good skin collection at the University of South Florida, and to see more … Read more
Last week, I received an email from Washington State University Press telling me that Marvelous Wings had arrived from the printer. They were mailing my author copies the next day. I sat at my desk, staring at the wall, trying to take it all in. I drafted the opening essay in this book more than … Read more
Pigeon guillemots, Cepphus columba, nest in burrows dug into cliffs around Puget Sound, or they lay their eggs on beams under piers. In the breeding season, they are black with large white wing patches and have bright red feet. In winter, they molt into black and white plumage. First winter birds have a few more … Read more
Raptors are one of the most engaging of our avian groups. Today, we consider them carnivorous birds with hooked beaks, keen eyesight, and talons, but that definition has changed in the last fifty years. And not all birds we call raptors fit that description. Falcons, hawks, eagles, harriers, vultures, owls, and kites are among those … Read more
Madagascar is often called the eighth continent, underscoring its unique ecology and geography. Located approximately 250 miles off the east coast of Africa, the island is the fourth largest in the world. It boasts a landmass only somewhat less than the combined area of California and Oregon. The landscape is diverse, with high mountains rising … Read more
The bird leaned over, plucking a small bluish-black fruit from the tree and then holding it in its bill. Its red tongue seemed to roll along the outside of the fruit like it was testing the taste before swallowing it. Gulp and the fruit went down the gullet. Although this took a fraction of a … Read more
The Katmai Peninsula is wild, still supporting all the animals and fish present when Europeans first came to Alaska. The vastness, the brown bears, the sockeye salmon, and the glaciers leave one in awe. We spent a week in Alaska, where we experienced this landscape. I traveled with Nature Photography Adventures; they organized the trip … Read more
The fluffy flowers were waving in the light breeze when suddenly, a Blue-faced Honeyeater flew into the tree and began to probe the blossoms. The blooms had long, thin, white anthers that ended in pink. Each must have been an inch or more long. The nectar was at their base in what looked like a … Read more
The bird looked over its shoulder and back at me. His black eye sent an arrow right into my chest, and I shivered. It was as if he was checking me out, assessing whether he could take me or how much of a fight I might put up. The wind twisted his tail back and … Read more