I’ve often said that people who are more actively observant of the natural world around them are more acutely aware of the seasonal cycle. When … Read More
Sparrow Survey: Assessing Environmentally Friendly Land Use
It’s been some years since I worked full-time for any kind of field research project. My current job as a biology teacher doesn’t offer quite … Read More
Birding the Depths
Guest post by Ian Gardner With one of the highest murder rates in the world, recently overrun by cartels, a history of violence against environmental … Read More
Winging their Way to a Forest Near You
Amazingly, we’re already well into the second half of April, which probably means a lot more to the rest of you North American birders than … Read More
Field Life is for the Birds (and the termites, and the frogs…)
Living afield in the Amazon is a bit like journeying back in time. Yes, we have electricity, at least when the camp generator is running … Read More
Expectations vs. Reality: Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Most of us probably have some preconceived notions about what fieldwork in the Amazon rainforest entails. I certainly did. Who knows where these ideas originate … Read More
The Bird with…*Spots*
Fieldwork in a new locale necessarily brings with it a steep learning curve. Everything is foreign from the lay of the land to the host … Read More
Among Amazonian Royalty
As a sluggish day of bird-banding drew wearily to a close, Osmaildo (one of my Brazilian mateiros) approached the station with a trio of once-white … Read More
The dawn of my own Amazon Trails
My first trip into the Amazon Rainforest could be broken down like this. Day 2: Discover snake in camp toilet. Day 3: Spot first venomous … Read More
Santa Rosa Island Raptor banding 2015
I’ve been working on Santa Rosa Island for the Institute for Wildlife Studies for nearly four months now, monitoring Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagle nests. This … Read More