Tag: birds

A herd of caribou stands on an ice shelf, staring directly at the viewer. On a rise in the midground stands a lone bull with massive antlers, silhouetted against the distand blue mountains.

Caribou Kingdom: The Magic of Migration in The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

August 1, 2024

I crawled from my tent and stared at the ice wall along the northern horizon. It looked like something from a fantasy novel, the bulwark of some legendary polar kingdom. No escalade could scale these battlements: the shimmering bastion was a superior mirage, reflected from the Beaufort Sea eleven miles away. And this was no … More Caribou Kingdom: The Magic of Migration in The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

A silhouetted figure stands atop beach logs on Dungeness Spir. Mt Rainier rises misty blue in the background.

Three Hidden Wildlife Walks Outside Olympic National Park

June 1, 2024

Almost three million visitors flocked to Washington’s Olympic National Park in 2023, but the biome doesn’t stop at the park gates. The surrounding areas offer many lesser-known gems. On our recent trip to the Olympic Peninsula, my Laddie and I explored three local sanctuaries full of wonderful wildlife (and unlike many of the popular hikes, … More Three Hidden Wildlife Walks Outside Olympic National Park

Spotted Owl

Give A Hoot—Shoot? The Controversial Plan to Save Northern Spotted Owls from Extinction

May 5, 2024

Many human cultures have considered owls omens of death, so it’s perversely fitting that we are now arbiters of their doom. After driving one owl species toward extinction, we propose to save it by killing half a million members of another. How did we end up in this conundrum of ecological ethics? How The Spotted … More Give A Hoot—Shoot? The Controversial Plan to Save Northern Spotted Owls from Extinction

Vanishing Vagabonds: Crossing Paths With Bohemian Waxwings

February 29, 2024

Too often I forget that Nature is more than a postcard: an exotic destination like jungles, deserts, or coral reefs. It’s not a place we visit, but a realm we inhabit. Environmental phenomena can whisk us on journeys even in the humblest urban landscape. Still we chase the thrill of terra nova, like earlier this … More Vanishing Vagabonds: Crossing Paths With Bohemian Waxwings

A Common Redpoll bird pops up from a snowbank, its red cap vibrant against the white snow. Several flakes fly up around its speckled breast.

Bird Joy: Science warms to the idea that birds play in the snow

January 25, 2024

After researching how climate change threatens snowy Arctic biomes, I’ve been spending as much time as I can outdoors in the Alaskan winter. A recent 20-Fahrenheit afternoon felt warm after December’s negative temperatures. My neighborhood stream, artificially heated for utility purposes, burbled along with less ice than usual encrusting its rocks and reeds. Birds took … More Bird Joy: Science warms to the idea that birds play in the snow

An older man in a blue windbreaker, floppy hat, and sunglasses hikes along a rugged ridge towards the viewer. The edge of an island sweeps away In the distance below: azure water licking a crescent-shaped beach, and jungle giving way to an ocean horizon.

The Wild Ward: Exploring Resilience With My Father

July 2, 2023

Shuddering, and the plane pulled up from its descent and fled back over the turquoise sea. Jade mountains retreated from my tiny window, as fantastical as a storybook illustration and just as unreachable.“Aren’t we turning around?” I hissed.In reply, the pilot’s voice came over the speakers.“As you can tell, the wind’s quite strong, making it … More The Wild Ward: Exploring Resilience With My Father