Blogs by people who care about the living world and want to protect it.
Recent posts
Winter Birding
Beloved birders! There’s no better way to deal with winter than to embrace it full-on. And by embrace, I mean go on an 8 km walk looking for waterfowl and owls in Tommy Thompson park with the good people of the Ontario Field Naturalists. Had I ... Read More »
2017
My grandfather comes to me in pieces; The angle of a plywood sign nailed to a tree, my worn work boots on my porch in Richmond. I never call him up deliberately. This week marked 50 years since I saw him last. If I make it through the next few months... Read More »
Bacon and its Discontents
Another guest post by Joe Eaton The Bacon People have finally gone too far. And they’ve done it in a really strange and offensive way. This is not about bacon per se, and I have not turned vegetarian. Bacon has always been one of life’s great consola... Read More »
No Apology
I was going to tell you about the two magnificent bull elk that passed along the edge of my study site at 1668 m on the east side of the mountain, and how because I was alone, and kneeling, and looking at leaves, I saw them before they saw me. I real... Read More »
How an effective drought reshapes an urban bird community (a thesis seminar)
A few years ago we began what we hoped would be a long-term study of how urban water policy and water use by people affects the diversity and distribution of other species that share the city’s habitats with us. The “city” in questi... Read More »
Conservation Disaster: Coyote Killing Contests in Wolf Country
This weekend, a coyote killing contest — that is, a contest to see which human can kill the most coyotes — will be held on public lands in Lake County, Oregon — wilderness areas (national forest and BLM land) that the public pays for, including those... Read More »
Conversation biology: eight reasons why I am a silent scientist
In a recent email exchange with a journalist I greatly respect, I wrote: I am personally ashamed at how little we (as scientists) have done to either study carefully or explain the issues or even share our experiences in the public domain. The op-ed ... Read More »
Australian Magpies Are Not Corvids
I’m often linked to adorable videos of Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen). Videos of these charismatic clowns include them hanging upside down from laundry, playing with dogs, dive-bombing unsuspecting pedestrians and bicyclists, or genera... Read More »
California note 1
In the sierra foothills. Typing on my portable electronic device amidst the squeaks and squawks of stellars jays and quail and other birds I didn’t know or had forgotten. It’s cool out, a gentle breeze, but that won’t last. Sitting ... Read More »
The Silurian Valley spared- but will it be conserved?
The Silurian Valley, a vast expanse of creosote scrub and sand dunes surrounded by rugged mountain ranges, has become a flashpoint in the debate about utility-scale solar in the California desert. Spanish energy giant Iberdrola proposed a massive sol... Read More »
Coming soon!
Watch this space. Read More »
Lone Pine’s ‘lone pine’ Is Dead
The village of Lone Pine up in the Owens Valley is staring at a dead pine tree. This tree greets each visitor heading to the trailheads for Mt. Whitney and Cottonwood. Flying out of town after a monster breakfast, visitors don’t realize the sto... Read More »