You are browsing the archives of 2005 March.

Sara and I awoke to a gray, drizzling Easter morning determined to cram as much sightseeing as possible in our final full day in Seattle. The first order of business, after breakfast of course, was our traditional Easter morning hike. Since we were prudent enough to visit Mt. Rainier, our original hiking destination, a couple [...]

Bainbridge Island is just a short ferry ride across the Puget Sound from downtown Seattle. Though the island, considered the gateway to the Olympic Peninsula, boasts abundant historical and cultural charms, we were going for the birds. We learned through the Seattle Audubon Society chapter website of a terribly intriguing guided birding tour of Bainbridge [...]

Feeling thoroughly refreshed well before sunrise, an unhappy but not unexpected result of the time difference between the East and West Coasts, we had no recourse but to return to Volunteer Park while awaiting breakfast. We spotted the same species from the previous day as well as a couple of lifers. The first was Pine [...]

Sara and I have both jointly and independently criss-crossed this majestic country of ours, but neither of us had ever explored Washington State. As we were able to carve out a bit of free time and line up first-class babysitting for Mason (thanks, Grandma Ann!) that regrettable situation has at last been rectified. The Core [...]

The taxonomic practice of speciation must be more art than science. After all, there are at least six distinct and recognizable populations of Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) yet different species of scaup or Empidonax flycatcher are practically indistinguishable without resorting to DNA testing. Most higher animals are separated biologically, by the likelihood of gene flow [...]

While the rest of the United States populace is getting jiggy with corned beef and green beer for St. Patrick’s Day, the Core Team celebrates a holiday far dearer to our hearts. Today is the sacred feast of Masemas, observed by showering a certain wonderful boy with gifts, cake, and lots of special attention. Please [...]

Long Island is absolutely magnificent for winter waterfowl; don’t let anybody tell you different. If you want to pick up eiders, scoters, and all the other birds of the frigid Atlantic coast, the East End is probably the most reliable place to find them south of New England. But one needn’t thread the needle of [...]

When it comes to the number of existing bird species, the math tends towards subtraction rather than addition. The most recent tale of extinction that comes to mind is that of the poor Po’ouli, but extirpations of avians abound. The loss of even a single bird species is tragic, yet if there is any comfort, [...]