These are the opening lines of an old Noel Paul Stookey/Michael Kelly Blanchard song: And in these days of confused situations And in these nights of a restless remorse When the heart and the soul of a nation Lay wounded and cold as a corpse I thought of those lines this morning. Then I got … Continue reading Birding Unites Us
Tag: Fishing
An Ode to the Green Heron
My last blog, "An Ode to a City Park," was an ode not just to a single 11-acre city park in Chesapeake, VA, but really to all city parks (and by extension, all natural places that have been built/preserved/restored). These parks are critically important for wildlife and also for people—especially neighborhood people (see below!). Research … Continue reading An Ode to the Green Heron
Bird Photos and Photo Tips at Midyear
It's midyear 2019—or thereabouts. And as always, I have a bird photo backlog. So I thought it'd be a good time to trot some of them out and display them. I'll also be highlighting a few photos taken by others and a few "other wildlife" and people photos, too. And I'll include some of my … Continue reading Bird Photos and Photo Tips at Midyear
The Killdeer Saga
The last couple of blogs on the Osprey were writing marathons. They took a lot of time and effort to put together. And they were lengthy. This, the first of several blogs on the Killdeer, will be more like a 5K fast walk instead. But before we get down to business and begin to consider … Continue reading The Killdeer Saga
A Patchwork Quilt
I thought about titling this: "A Mishmash." But then I thought better. Who'd read something called "A Mishmash," anyway—sort of like: Who'd consider shopping at a place called "The Dump"? (As it turns out, many do.) So I decided on what I hope will be the more alluring title above. Which means that this blog … Continue reading A Patchwork Quilt
The Year 2018 in Pictures
What follows are some of my favorite bird and people photographs of 2018. I'm fond of calling these "indicator photos," or photos that indicate the importance, the health, and the vitality of a restored river: the Elizabeth River in SE Virginia. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed creating them. … Continue reading The Year 2018 in Pictures
Loose Ends
We'll continue to "interrupt this program" so that we can tie up a few loose ends. We'll resume our discussion of bird flight in the next blog, I promise. We'll call this our "loose ends," blog, then. And it will be shorter. They say that ideal blog length is 300-600 words. I've used well over … Continue reading Loose Ends
Birds Provide a Bridge
We've covered some ground here. Thank you so much for reading. And thank you to those who have told me personally (Marjorie, Rebecca, Larry, Steve, Mickie the Master Naturalist, the two Sarah's, Bob S., CBG and others) and through your comments (Abby, Glenn, Phil, Marlene the nature writer, Katiegirl, Dii and others) how much you're enjoying the blog. I realize this is a well-worn expression, but this is a labor of love. I love doing this. And hopefully the labor is yielding results. Now, cue the trumpet fanfare. Ladies and gentlemen...this photo's for you (a newly fledged Purple Martin hawking insects over Pardise Creek Nature Park in Portsmouth)!
Elizabeth River Bird Blog 