Unfortunately, I am probably “singing to the birders” when I say this, but every birder (or nature-lover) should be a conservationist. What exactly is a conservationist? The official definition states: a person who advocates or promotes conservation, where conservation is the official supervision of rivers, forests, and other natural resources in order to preserve and
Category: Bird Conservation
A New Type of Bird SEED
The Birdfreak Team is always brainstorming about ways to help promote birding and conservation. One of the ideas that came about was the acronym SEED, which stands for Systematic Environmental & Ecological Defragmentation. What does this really mean? Our environment is constantly changing, sometimes for the better, often for the worse. The biggest problem wildlife
Save the Salton Sea?
The Salton Sea is in danger? What gives? As this article on Birdlife International states, the Salton Sea is under heavy debate about how to properly manage this gem of a birding area. Located in California and part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, the Salton Sea is an Important Bird Area that supports over
Feral Cats — A Big Threat to Wildlife
How bad is the problem of feral and stray cats disrupting an ecosystem in which they do not belong? Cats are included in the category of invasive species which is the second most serious threat to birds. Habitat loss is the first. Cats are NOT part of our ecosystem. They compete with natural predators, they
Illinois Important Bird Areas
I came across a website known as the Chicago Wilderness Habitat Project. According to the site there are 48 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) that have been designated thus far for the state of Illinois. The list has some impressive sites but is really lacking when it comes to IBAs in Winnebago County (zero sites). I
Cranes of the World Part 2
Part 1 featured seven wonderful cranes found at the International Crane Foundation near Baraboo, Wisconsin. Here are seven more species. I missed one crane when I was there, the Red-crowned Crane. #8 – Black-crowned Crane #9 – Eurasian Crane #10 – Sandhill Crane (I have pictures of them in the wild, but this bird was
A Scenic Drive
Driving around Winnebago County I found a “Scenic Dr”. I don’t think this is going to attract many birds…Looks like loads of fun to mow, water, and fertilize.
Cranes of the World Part 1
Welcome to a pictorial tour of fourteen of the fifteen Crane species of the world. All photographs were taken at the International Crane Foundation, so they are not wild birds. However, these birds are EXTREMELY important to education, conservation, and helping to ensure that these species do not ever face the evil darkness of extinction.
