Category Archives: Conservation
What’s Not To Love About Loons?
My dentist lives on a nearby lake (Elmore) so while I was being examined by him the other day, I asked if the ice was out yet. He replied “No, but isn’t it amazing – the first day it’s gone … Continue reading
Posted in Caledonia County, Conservation, VCE, Vermont Birding
Tagged Common Loons, VCE
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Drilling for “oil” in the nursery
A disturbing article on the effect of tar sands on birds from Canadian blogger Sharon McInnes: Some of Enbridge’s oil tanks are decorated with illustrations of lovely Canada Geese in flight. Let’s just hope they don’t land in the tar sands … Continue reading
Posted in Bird conservation, Conservation
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Declining Grassland Birds & Pesticides
A new paper by Canadian scientists Pierre Mineau and Mélanie Whiteside identifies pesticide toxicity to birds as an important factor in grassland bird declines. “Pesticide Acute Toxicity is a Better Correlate of U.S. Grassland Bird Declines than Agricultural Intensification” was … Continue reading
Posted in Bird conservation, Conservation
Tagged grassland_birds, pesticides
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A Birder’s Band for Vermont?
The onset of waterfowl hunting has spawned a lively discussion on VTBirds about ways for birders to get more credit for supporting conservation efforts. As I blogged last month, we get little respect from our contributions for Federal duck stamps … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Conservation
Tagged conservation, Federal Duck Stamps, hunting
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Won’t Get Fooled Again
I’m heading to Massachusetts next week and plan to do some birding and the Who song, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” comes to mind. Here’s the way I described it a couple of years ago: “Camera ready, I walked through the … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Conservation
Tagged BioDiversity Reseach Institute, Common Eider, MA Birding, Penny, Salisbury Beach State Reservation, scoter
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Decline of American Kestrels
“One autumn day, 15 years ago, I found myself perched on a ladder that was leaning against a highway sign on Interstate 89 somewhere in Vermont. There was a wooden box clamped to one of the sign poles at least … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Conservation
Tagged Adirondack Almanack, Kestrel
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Introducing the Birds of Paradise
This fall, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Geographic are bringing the Birds-of-Paradise Project to the public with a coffee-table book, a major exhibit at the National Geographic Museum (opening November 1), a documentary on the National Geographic Channel … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Conservation
Tagged conservation, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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Do You Drink Bird-Friendly Coffee? Cornell Offers Guidance
Imagine you walk into the neighborhood coffee house for your morning cup of joe, and on the counter is a tip jar with a sign reading, “$ for wintering warblers” with a photo of a Chestnut-sided Warbler in a tropical … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Conservation
Tagged Bird Friendly, birding, birdwatching, coffee, conservation, migration, organic, science, shade-grown, songbirds, tropics.
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Duck, Geese — Hunting Season is Near
I have been reading Julie Zickfoose’s fine book, The Bluebird Effect. It’s a series of stories about bird rehabilitation and observation and is the kind of book that is nice to take your time reading. I have it on the iPad … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Conservation
Tagged duck hunting, Federal Duck Stamps, habitat, Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge, Julie Zickefoose, Sandhill Cranes
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Bryan Pfeiffer Takes A New (old) Trail
Bryan Pfeiffer is a well-known Central Vermont writer, naturalist, photographer and educator. Many of us have enjoyed his bird walks/tours, his humor-filled lectures, and his photographic skills. His blog post the other day caught many of us by surprise — not … Continue reading →
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