Wind energy is renewable, clean and plentiful. But some people are concerned that too many birds would be killed by giant wind farms. According to the American Wind Energy Association and other websites that have assessed wind turbine damage to birds, death rates are low. The average wind turbine kills less than two birds per
Category: Bird Conservation
A Conversation About Conservation
Many people associate with nature – they might enjoy camping, scenic drives, or rugged hikes. The highest degree of nature lovers/naturalists are birders. But what is a birder? Many people that call themselves birders (or bird-watchers) usually do one or all of the following: Go outside to find birds Identify found birds to the best
Sand Bluff Bird Observatory – Banding Data Fall 2006
I just got my hands on last fall's banding season data at Sand Bluff Bird Observatory (SBBO) at Colored Sands Forest Preserve in Winnebago County. While I won't go through each species banded, I will try to give some of the highlights. First of all, there were two never before banded birds at SBBO: Bank
Continue reading Sand Bluff Bird Observatory – Banding Data Fall 2006
eBird – Illinois Bird Sighting Checklists
eBird is the online birding checklist submission headquarters. Birders from all over the U.S. (Canada and elsewhere too) can submit their bird sightings through an easy to use form. This data can be used to develop trends in bird populations as well as to determine abundancy and dates when birds are at a particular location.
Conflicting Protection
When a group’s religious practices require the killing of a protected bird species, the result is a never-ending debate. Some Native American tribes use eagle feathers, heads and talons in certain ceremonies. (There are also many tribes that protect birds and think that endangered birds should not be killed.) This debate is very tricky because
Prairie Peninsula
Winnebago County rests in a zone of transition. Part one of this series discussed the Dissected Till Plains. This is part 2 of 3 of this series. The Prairie Peninsula, according to Partners In Flight, is located in Missouri, much of Illinois, and parts of Indiana and Ohio. This is the area that once earned
Improving Power Lines for Raptors
In a joint effort, the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee, Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and the California Energy Commission have put out a new edition to the publication, Suggested Practices for Raptor Protection on Power Lines. The book has helped provide an increased awareness of the problems raptors have with dealing with power lines and
A Good Way to Search
For all of us who browse the internet, Google has become practically a household name: Why Don’t you just Google it? Now there may be a better search! GoodSearch.com is a search engine powered by Yahoo! that is reliable and easy-to-use. But the key feature is this: every time you search for something, a small
