In an incredibly disappointing, but not entirely surprising move, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has announced its intention to strip gray wolves of federal protection in the lower 48, which their advocates fear will be a death sentence for them. Gray wolves have already faced such heavy persecution that we nearly killed every […]
Flock of 30 Bimaculated Larks – Jebal Hamrah
Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah pivot irrigation fields recently with Phil Roberts, we came across a flock of up to thirty Bimaculated LarksMelanocorypha bimaculateon the stony area around the pivot field. The birds were on the edge of the field in with a group of Greater Short-toed Larks and Eurasian Skylarks. We had planned our […]
Salt fiends: Search for sodium puts Rwanda’s gorillas in harm’s way
A sodium craving may be the reason endangered mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda leave the park to raid nearby eucalyptus plantations, according to a recent paper published in Biotropica. Tourists from around the world pay $1,500 for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend just an hour with these majestic great […]
Spring fun
Yesterday morning I worked in Wadi Bet Arif, very close to Ben Gurion airport. I had a productive morning – lovey spring atmosphere with flowers, beautiful weather, good breeding activity and fine migration. Among the priority breeding species, Long-billed Pipit was most prominent – it’s song was a continuous soundtrack of my walk. One of […]
Red wolf: the struggle to save one of the rarest animals on Earth
Attempting to locate one of the rarest animals on the planet, US government scientist Joe Madison pointed an antiquated VHF tracking antenna at a tangle of thick vegetation and twiddled some dials on the receiver. A red wolf, judging by the beeps, was in the vicinity but well-hidden. “Did you hear that beep? That’s a […]
Three Egyptian Nightjars – Judah
Whilst driving off-road along the edge of a large wire fence towards our main birding location at Judah we flushed a bird off the sand track just as it was getting light. We did not see the bird well and flew off and over the fence and could not be seen again. We were hoping […]
How Are These Rare Burrowing Owls Thriving Next to the Busy LAX Airport?
If you’ve taken off on a flight from Los Angeles International Airport recently, you’d probably never guess that a few hundred feet below you, just beyond the runway’s end, is the winter habitat for 10 rare burrowing owls. It seems like an unlikely spot for wildlife to thrive. The LAX Dunes Preserve is located in […]
Gavilán Patas Largas ( Crane Hawk ) Geranospiza caerulescens (Vieillot, 1817)
Cuesta creer que me haya costado casi 9 años poder fotografiar a esta especie, particularmente recuerdo una jornada en el Parque Provincial Profundidad cuando estando con Fernando Bernasconi separados a no mas de 20 metros de distancia de el me perdí la oportunidad de fotografiar a este gavilán. Si bien antiguos integrantes del grupo lo […]
