Tortoises and turtles are not to be trusted. For all that they carry the weight of the world (plus four elephants) on their backs, at their core they are heartless reptiles who use their shells to hide from their own sins. Cold blooded by nature, cold-hearted by choice. First, let me introduce Shelly, a …
This seems like a good opportunity to go through some of the bird songs you might hear in a pinyon-juniper vegetation community, with the mnemonic devices I use to identify them. To put it mildly, I was fussy and in need of a snack long before it was light enough to start looking for birds. …
Complicated Menmonics for Pinyon-Juniper Landscapes Read More »
There are stories of people weeping when they see the Sistine Chapel for the first time. It’s called Stendhal Syndrome. People become faint, confused, tremble, and are simply overwhelmed by the sight of the great art of our world. I always thought those people were overly dramatic—and I say that as someone who faints when …
It’s easy to wax romantic about this job, about seeing every sunrise and listening to the dawn chorus, exploring different landscapes, and being immersed in nature. The reality is that it involves a lot of driving. Especially in the 2023 field season, when my survey locations were picked by a blind chimpanzee throwing darts at …
This post has nothing to do with birding. That said, it concerns an event that has reshaped the fiber of my being. What follows is an account of my descent into madness. Recently, I traveled from Austria to the Netherlands for a wedding (not mine). The Octopus and I elected to take the night train …
On the Inadvisability of Taking A Night Train During the Euro Cup Read More »
In approximately 279 BCE, the Roman empire, after invading vast swathes of Europe and the Mediterranean, set its sights on the island of Corsica off the French coast. Legions landed on the sandy beaches and the air swelled with the horns of battle and the beating of sandalled feet against the rocky ground. Again and …
Antelope Island sits in the Great Salt Lake, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City. A causeway takes you from the mainland to the island and past excellent spots for scoping for plovers and other wading birds. The brine shrimp in the lake attract shorebirds and waterfowl alike and the island is a great …
Every time I go to an outdoor store, I’m desperately tempted by the insulated blankets in fetching colors. Do I need one? Absolutely not. Do I want one? Absolutely I do. So far, I’ve been able to temper my goblin hoarding instincts and not buy one. Instead, I decided to make my own. I made …
I left the pavement behind and drove past a munitions testing and disposal range with a rather worrying sign that read “KEEP MOVING: DO NOT LEAVE ROAD SURFACE”. Whether I had to keep moving for my own safety or to provide a more challenging target to bored marksmen was unclear. My next survey was in …
It was very strange to be in a proper campground after wild camping by myself for several weeks. This was probably made even stranger by the fact that the only campground available was a KOA. It’s a bizarre place, slightly detached from reality. It can’t just be a campground; it has to be an experience. …