You are browsing the archives of 2004 January.

One thing I’ve learned during my recent research into the shooting community is that they have their act together. Bird hunting groups like Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever possess broad, active membership bases and healthy streams of revenue. The more prominent birding organizations can boast similar strengths, but seem to fall behind in one critical [...]

Now that the topic of bird hunting has been broached (see yesterday’s post) I’d like to explore it further. Hunting for sport is in direct opposition to the things that we believe in. Hunting for food is a more complicated issue. I’ve certainly enjoyed eating game in the past and I’m still fond of fishing [...]

In this, the year 2004, most Americas consider themselves fortunate to be able to buy food at supermarkets and restaurants rather than have to forage vegetables and hunt game. Many take advantage of the food options afforded by our global economy to make diet choices based on ethical and medical factors instead of sheer desperation. [...]

Once every four years, this nation turns its eyes to Iowa. That time is upon us as candidates vie for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2004 Iowa Caucus. Go, Howard Dean! Since the Hawkeye State is the center of the media universe today, we’d like to take this opportunity to admire the Iowa state [...]

The first holiday Sara and I came out as certified birders, we received a myriad of birding accessories. Of all the gift we received that year, the one we enjoyed most, the one that we go back to years later, has to be the DVD box set of The Life of Birds by Sir David [...]

The cover story in this month’s issue of the science journal Nature addresses climate change and biodiversity loss. According to the authors, human-induced global warming could be the death of over a million species by the year 2050. Ouch! Here is a technical synopsis of the study:
Climate change over the past ~30 years has produced [...]

This interesting item just hit the wire:
LONDON (Reuters) - A rare feathered visitor to Britain survived a grueling 15-hour journey from Norway, only to be eaten by a birdwatcher’s cat on arrival.
The cat’s owner wrote to a bird charity to report the unusual sight of a Norwegian robin in her garden in the north of [...]

At the beginning of 2003, we were far from what one would consider active birders. While we had an appreciation for all forms of wildlife, we frankly had no interest in identifying every avian that flew across our trail. Obviously, things have changed. In order to set the right tone for 2004, the Core Team [...]