The National Wildlife Refuge system is one of America’s greatest treasures. It preserves habitat, protects wildlife. and provides diverse nature experiences for visitors from around the world. According to the latest (2013) report by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) entitled “Banking on Nature: The Economic Benefits to Local Communities of National Wildlife Refuge […]
Author: Larry Jordan
Larry Jordan is an avid birder and amateur photographer living on the Pacific Flyway near the Central Valley of Northern California. He is a board member of his local Audubon Society and is a bird and wildlife conservationist. Larry contributes to several wildlife conservation organizations and is a BirdLife International "Species Champion." He is also Habitat Manager for the Burrowing Owl Conservation Network, an organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Western Burrowing Owl population in the United States. Larry has been blogging about birds since September of 2007 at TheBirdersReport.com
Sandhill Crane Migration Is Underway
Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) are migrating back northward to their breeding grounds. I photographed this crane and his mate at Modoc National Wildlife Refuge about a month ago and will be writing a post for the Wildlife Conservation Stamp blog soon on that Northern California refuge. Check out my latest West Coast Beat Writer post […]
Pied-billed Grebe in Golden Light
The Pied-billed Grebe has the widest distribution in the Americas of any grebe, breeding from northern Canada through the West Indies and Central America to southern South America1. I photographed these grebes recently at Lema Ranch, one of the better birding hot spots in Northern California. The Pied-billed Grebe is an aggressive bird, threatening, chasing, […]
The U.S. House of Representatives Declares War on Wildlife and the Environment
Can the second session of the 113th U.S. House of Representatives be any more harmful to wildlife and the environment than the first session of 2013? It appears that they can! On January 3, 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives convened to start its second session of the 113th Congress. By the end of the […]
Stop Wildlife Killing Contests in California
After Project Coyote representatives made the case for a ban, newly elected Commission Vice President Jack Baylis put forth the motion to move forward on a formal rule making process to consider prohibiting wildlife-killing contests statewide. Speaking in favor of the motion Commission President Michael Sutton stated, “I’ve been concerned about these killing contests for […]
An American Bittern at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
I have seen quite a few American Bitterns (Botaurus lentiginosus) over the years but most I didn’t spot until they were startled into flight. That all changed last November when I spotted this bird out in the open at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. The American Bittern is a solitary, secretive, cryptically colored heron that breeds […]
My Favorite Bird Photos of 2013
At the end of each year I like to go back and look at the bird photographs I have taken and choose the ones I like the best for a “favorite bird photo” post. I try to pick at least one photograph from each month however some months were photographically prolific, others not so much. […]
Ferruginous Hawk on Rat Farm Road
Our first Christmas Bird Count will be coming up on December 14th in Fall River Mills so I thought I would take a drive up there to see what I could see as the day approaches. Rat Farm Road is a long gravel road leading from the small town of McArthur, through some sage/prairie habitat […]