Recently in Opinion Category

It all started yesterday morning when I thought I heard a noise that I didn't really want to hear. My suspicions were confirmed when I arrived home for my dinner break: Just across the fence separating the park from the national forest I was greeted by about 40 head of cattle. Just peachy. Though they cleared the area fairly quickly, this morning I knew they were still in the neighborhood since I had to listen to their obnoxious freakin' mooing interspersed among the bird songs.

And of course it will be some time before walking in the area they were in yesterday will be safe, since it is now almost certainly filled with "land mines". What's really sad is I don't think I've found a spot in the forest here on the plateau that didn't have "signs left behind" by cattle.

The crossbills were really chatty this morning, too. Would have been nice to record that, but, just as I decided to to get out the recording equipment, a very noisy ultralight began buzzing the park. Which is totally legal as long as they maintain a minimum altitude, but even at 500 feet they are extremely annoying.

And for Saturday morning it's an idiot out there ravaging the forest landscape with a 2-wheeled, unmuffled and drowning out the birds "off-highway vehicle". Oh well.


On a more positive note, even though the weather hasn't exactly been the best, I made a few images this week.

It's the time of year when public lands in the area become infested with "people" (I use the term very loosely) who have absolutely no regard for the environment or toward other, more responsible, users of said lands. Between the burned cans, water bottles, bait containers, cigarette butts, and fishing line left on the ground and in the water (last week Roxy came ashore with some line that still had a hook attached), I sometimes wish they would just close the place off to fishing (and ATV'ing, too, since trash lines the roadsides anywhere you go back in that forest). But then realize that it is only a few irresponsible slugs who taint my view of things, and those who actually have brains shouldn't be penalized for the actions of the mindless few.

I may make this a semi-regular feature about some of the interesting, exciting, and sometimes scary or disappointing news and information from the world of science. So much of what I read  deals with science-related stuff that I get from books, news sites, and blogs. I have long been fascinated by our expanding knowledge, and it is one of the reasons I avoid network television and primarily watch things like Richard Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth on Science Channel a couple of nights ago (Cool! All about insects and spiders!) .

There were some speeches on TV tonight.

I watched the first and really tried to be open minded and watch the other.

Who was that guy from Louisiana?*

Besides the fact that, apparently, he hadn't listed to the President's speech before opening his pie hole and had absolutely nothing relevant to say - maybe someone from Louisiana can help me out here - but does this guy's speeches always sound like he's channeling Mister Rogers????????

(*Actually I am quite familiar with him, this was just the first time I've seen/heard him speak.)

I received a note from a good friend from Halifax River Audubon about the shooting of 21 birds in Florida a few days ago. Very, very disappointing news.

It turns out that 4 of the 7 individuals arrested for this crime are graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy, assigned to the Naval Air Station at Pensacola (FL) for flight training. I come from a Navy Air family (my father having retired after 20+ years as an Air Crewman - for the first 13 years of my life I was surrounded by the U.S. Navy) and have nothing but the greatest respect for Navy pilots but, if convicted, they should be stripped of their commissions and sent packing. As a nation, our military can must do better than this.

As David noted in his email, "It's mind boggling to think that someone capable of this kind of barbaric, adolescent behavior could possibly pass the psychological tests for entry into the highest ranks of our military." I wholeheartedly concur. 

I've read some things over the past few days that have managed to get blood boiling a little. I could engage in some harsh commentary on a few - probably all of them, actually - of these topics, but it'll probably be better if I don't get too carried away.

First, a couple of items from this week's Loose Feathers:

• A couple of weeks ago some of us were trying to get signatures on a petition to stop the shooting of Acorn Woodpeckers at a retirement community in California. Not working. Twenty-two are dead so far.

• They're paddling their little boat out to an island rookery in Florida and shooting birds just for fun. At least twenty-one total - the good news is there were arrests. (I made the mistake of reading some of the comments with that news item - as per usual in an article like this, especially from a Florida news source, there are a few wackaloons participating in the discussion.)

And from Coyote Crossing:

• A group of "off-road enthusiasts" wants to stage a 1,000 mile race through the Nevada desert. "Petro-tainment" at its finest. No comment.

• Meanwhile, up in Idaho, some of the world's finest humans are staging a Coyote killing competition. This wonderful event is taking place today! Here in Utah they don't do it all in one day - the bounty for a set of ears is in place all year.

I have to rush off to work now, though I have a few more I may add later this evening. I do have watch my level of stress, though.

(Apologies to John at A D.C. Birding Blog for sort of co-opting the name of this post from his (great) weekly feature Loose Feathers.)

Here we are, another New Year has arrived. Hopefully, at least here in the U.S. we'll see a return to sanity after 8 years of failed, I was going to say "leadership", but there wasn't any. I have some hope that we will at least start taking some steps toward a return to some semblance of peace and prosperity as well as some positive steps in helping our beleaguered environment. n the last count humanity needs to make drastic changes.

This time last year I had the day off and went birding, but will be working today and probably won't see 20 species to begin the year. Four or five will probably be all I get unless I head out of the park in the waning moments of the day.

Have a great New Year and get to see lots of great birds (or snails, wolves, wildflowers, or whatever it might be in this amazing world that grabs your attention)!

(edited to add: Common Raven will be my first species of the year - 6 flew by while I was out starting my truck to head to work.)