Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) are listed as endangered in Canada and threatened in Mexico. They are considered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to be a “Bird of Conservation Concern” at the national level, in three USFWS regions, and in nine Bird Conservation Regions. They are also listed as endangered in Minnesota, threatened […]
Wintering Cranes at Arasaki
Perhaps the most important winter refuge for Hooded and White-naped Cranes in the world is the famous Arasaki area in Izumi city, Kagoshima, Japan. From late November each year, thousands of these magnificent birds migrate to this spot on the southwestern coast of Kyushu, and by the end of December most of the more than […]
First record for Bahrain, Siberian Buff-bellied Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicas) – Alba Marsh Bahrain
I have starting to learn (July 2011) to ring (band) birds, as a trainee, in Bahrain with the help of trainer Brendan Kavanagh . Brendan is licensed to ring under the British Trust for Ornithology scheme which operates in Britain and Ireland and has permission to use their rings in Bahrain. As a trainee ringer […]
Merlin Perched in a Tree
Merlins are winter visitors in the Salt Lake Valley so I have just a few more weeks to attempt photographing them. Merlins used to be called “pigeon hawks” because their shape and flight patterns are similar to pigeons. Merlins feed on small mammals, birds as large as doves and apparently they include bats in their […]
Juvenile Burrowing Owl Portrait
Just a simple portrait of a juvenile Burrowing Owl taken in the soft light of dawn. Burrowing Owls are beautiful birds with lemony yellow eyes, downy soft feathers and subtle coloration. It’s hard to believe that they aren’t that much different in size from an American Robin. OnTheWingPhotography.com
Birding Couch Park, with an homage to the Babe
A much-debated legend in baseball involves the New York Yankee’s Babe Ruth at the plate facing the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field for game 3 of the 1932 World Series. According to the story, Ruth was enduring quite a bit of trash-talk from the Cubs’ bench, and he returned same: With the count at two […]
Snowy Owl “irruption” in North America
Local farmers, amateur birdwatchers and bird researchers have witnessed an unusual and at times disturbing phenomenon recently as huge numbers of snowy owls are migrating south from the Arctic and being seen as far south as Missouri. Such are the increasingly large numbers of this majestic owl species that it is being described as a “mass […]
Is this the beginning of the end of the Canadian commercial seal hunt?
Comments being made in certain quarters of the Canadian politicalhierarchymay indicate that there is a creepingrealisationthat the negative publicity that Canada receives from its adherence to the annual commercial seal hunt is not worth the financial returns obtained from the selling of seal products. Ryan Cleary, a New Democrat MP representing Labrador and Newfoundland has […]