Why do we hate the Brown-headed Cowbird so much? Is the hatred deserved? After all, cowbirds don’t fragment habitat. The Brown-headed Cowbird is known to use the nests of more than 200 other bird species. Cowbirds used to follow the large herds of Bison and as nomads, didn’t have time for nest building and incubating.
Continue reading Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Brown-headed Cowbird?
Want a new way to help with bird conservation? Buy bison (buffalo) meat! Bison once roamed all over the west and were part of the natural landscape of grasslands. The Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Co. states the benefits of buffalo meat over other red meats, such as less fat and the fact that they roam
Great news from our home away from home, Wisconsin. The endangered Kirtland’s Warbler, famous for nesting in Michigan, has been confirmed to be nesting in Wisconsin. The nest was discovered on land in central Wisconsin owned by the Plum Creek Timber Company. This was from a press release from the Fish and Wildlife Service. Read
How does the fast-growing weed Kudzu affect our wild birds? Well, since the plant grows so rapidly and kills all native plants in its way, birds lose their habitat and natural food sources. And our birds are already losing enough habitat as it is. Kudzu has claimed seven million acres of land in the Southeastern
When an animal is whittled down to a single group or very small population, there are two options: try and save the last area and help re-establish the population, or cut your losses and say goodbye. Obviously, the latter is not a good option. Though focusing on one species may seem like a wasted effort,
Continue reading Fundacion Jocotoco — Protecting Ecuador’s Critical Species
The National Park Service (NPS) has a cool project called Park Flight that is designed to protect areas where migratory birds reside. Not only is NPS working with our protected land, but is partnering with places in Latin America to provide safe migratory bird routes. One of the coolest projects is “Canal to Canal: Panama-Ohio
Continue reading Global Conservation Efforts by the National Park Service
As we are finding out more and more about Mexico’s rich biodiversity and birding, we stumbled across a new word in conservation that had Mexico’s name at the very top of their list. Megadiversity n. A large number and wide range of species; exceptional biological diversity. —megadiverse adj. Mexico takes up only 1% of the
Hispaniola is an island that consists of two countries – the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the birthplace of John James Audubon. This area is one of the poorest economically in the western hemisphere and also one in conservation peril. The Vermont Institute of Natural Science is leading research in this area to help stop the
