Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) by Twan Leenders
The bright and deep red eyes of the Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) are really something to see (no pun intended) up close like this. After such a cold winter for much of the U.S. it’s a great time to check your local ponds and lakes for any open water to enjoy respectfully close views of ducks, geese, gulls, loons, grebes and more. This bird was on Lake Erie yesterday. More snow and cold air will keep waterfowl moving in the next week.
Read MoreMelanistic Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) by Twan Leenders
This melanistic Eastern Gray Squirrel that Twan recently photographed in Dunkirk, NY seemed to me to be the perfect scene for the upcoming week with a little bit of snow in a very cold looking world. I’m glad they’re doing well over there along Lake Erie even if their winter “camouflage” needs some, um…help. How are the feathered and furry friends doing in your backyard?
Read MoreEcological catastrophes: what’s here, what’s next?
For my first blog post of 2014 I wanted to talk about something I ponder frequently in this line of work – apart from the ongoing environmental disasters we acknowledge and in some cases are working to correct, what silent or invisible calamities are occurring right now that we should be detecting, analyzing and stopping? Climate change is the number one global nightmare that is finally being accepted by the average person, something that is long overdue. However, we are nowhere near addressing it and it may already be too late in many regards. Smaller scale disasters like the spread of...
Read MoreGlaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) by Twan Leenders
How did your first day of birding go in 2014? Twan had a few cool sightings yesterday in Chautauqua County while checking out some local hotspots. At Barcelona Harbor in Westfield on Lake Erie he picked out this Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) that he noted dwarfs the Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) that is next to it and even closer to his camera. What did you see in the field yesterday?
Read MoreEaster Island’s history rewritten, previewing ours?
This post was inspired by this piece on NPR by Robert Krulwich detailing what happened on Easter Island – the old story and the supposed new story. Twan and I independently read this and had the similar thought (I love when that happens) of it being a good follow-up to my recently posted entry on climate change. You can read in detail about Easter Island on NPR but essentially the old tale tells of the inhabitants spending hundreds of years destroying the tiny remote island’s environment in order to feed themselves and prosper only to be left in ruin when it was all gone, slowly...
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