Free Republic

The struggle to prove the majestic bird still exists has obsessed believers and exasperated doubters for a century. Now photographer Bobby Harrison is racing to document the species once and for all before the government declares it extinct The bird has many names, often divinely inspired: the Lord God Bird, the Lazarus Bird, the Ghost Bird, the Grail Bird. Bobby Harrison is a religious man, but he doesn’t like any of them. He prefers to call it what it is: an ivory-billed woodpecker. “Well,” he says with a shrug, “it is just a bird, after all.” That might seem like...

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A newcomer has arrived at the White House, provoking fierce turf battles and carrying out more than one lethal confrontation in broad daylight. But this is no political power struggle; it is nature. A red-tailed hawk is prowling the lush White House lawn and perching just above the second-story window of President Obama’s East Wing residence, lured by a booming population of gray squirrels and undeterred by the harassment of smaller birds that have tried in vain to displace it. The hawk has captivated those who frequent the White House, from visitors to journalists to staff members, some of them...

I know next to nothing about optics. I want to look at the birds more closely at the feeders at home. I will be looking through double paned windows. The feeders are four to ten feet away. Then there are the birds in the trees that are up to 25 feet away. Any recommendations for binoculars? I wear glasses and am nearsighted. I would appreciate any input. I think they are going to be my Christmas present to myself. That or a receiver for my old stereo that I am trying to resurrect. But that will be another thread! Thank...

The National Geographic Magazine, a publication heretofore not noted for satirical excellence, has published an article that easily could have appeared in The Onion. In fact, it begins by quoting that satirical publication as an authority. In Colorful World of Birding Has Conspicuous Lack of People of Color , author Martha Hamilton engages in hand-wringing and navel-gazing (yes, they can be done simultaneously, and for all I know, this might be good exercise) over the relative lack of “people of color” (as opposed to the colorless majority) out looking for exotic avian life. I kid you not: According to the...

One of only a handful of a type of small bird from Asia to have been spotted in the U.K. in the past two centuries was thrilling twitchers off the northwest coast of Scotland earlier this week. Then, tragedy struck. It flew into the blade of a wind turbine and was killed. Needless to say, watching the little white-throated needletail fall to its death dismayed those who went to the Outer Hebrides to see it. Dozens of twitchers (" for a person who will travel long distances to spot as many hard-to-find birds as possible") had rushed to the area...

One of the great things about being a nature lover is that your powers of observation seem to improve. While others are walking by, oblivious to the activities going on all around them, naturalists notice the creatures and the behaviors, especially if they are out of the ordinary.   The Ogden Point Breakwater is a popular spot with folks out for a weekend stroll. (Photo by Craig Spence, sourced online at Flickr.com) Such was the case on March 24, 2012, a sunny Saturday morning, when Ginger Morneau, her husband Ken, and brother Lou Baker were walking along the Ogden Point...

If you like birds (no salt and pepper jokes) you may like this.

Four weeks after quadruple coronary bypass and with THAT story told, time to pay attention to things that bring about an upbeat attitude. Not to mention an emotion so strong that it equates to nothing less than what life is all about and the joy of being able to live it. First, the state bird of Georgia decided to build a nest in my hedge roses. I was just so honored. We've got pics of both the hedge roses what took over the world and the Brown Thrasher which so availed itself of that thorny bush. Second, a video garden...

AP - Wed Dec 27, 7:46 PM ET A bald eagle carries a fish in its talons over New York Citys Central Park, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006. The eagles flight didnt go unnoticed by Pale Male, the famed red-tailed hawk of Central Park, who was perched on the 22nd floor of the Beresford apartment building as the eagle flew by. 'Pale Male usually sits there sort of relaxed, but he sat up straight when he saw the bald eagle,' said Lincoln Karim, the man whose photographic chronicle made Pale Male and his mate Lola famous. Karim is an Associated...

The linked source above provides the article and a link to a full-size image. Here's the smaller version: Here's a "where is it?" context map: and here are various images from Farewell Spit (apparently -- not absolutely certain in the case of the first two, but very likely). This appears to be one of the world's ultimate natural beaches. and finally, found on the page that provided the last image above, these "Pancake Rocks" are somewhere in the vicinity: