 | |||
| |||
 |
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||
By Laura Bailey THE COLORADO Division of Wildlife is asking people to be mindful of wildlife while putting up outdoor Christmas displays this year. Every year wildlife officers are called to help free animals caught in lights and decorations, but the division is trying to reduce such mishaps by instructing people how to safely decorate. To help reduce the number of the incidents, the division is asking people to follow the following tips: Read On | ||||
| ||||
| ||
NIGHTMARE TRAFFIC-- Huge crowds of pushing and shoving people. No place to park! If you are happy dealing with these conditions-- good for you. But, if you want a better way, do your Christmas shopping on the WindStar Wildlife Institute's Nature Shop where all proceeds go to support WindStar's Environmental Education Programs--not overhead. This is one of Michael Smith's Barn Owl photographs that you can purchase in WindStar's Nature Shop.
We have a number of products available to you featuring his wildlife photographs... Read On | ||
|
| ||
WHAT MID-WINTER activities are fun, easy, free, and help bird conservation? How about bird counts? The 107th annual Christmas Bird Count season (December 14th 2006 to January 5th 2007) is underway; compilers and participants are implementing their plans and eagerly anticipating what birds, weather, and exciting times will come their way. As the fall migration winds down, and winter conditions wind up, we all eagerly anticipate the upcoming count. Where will the winter raptors or finches be found? What late-lingering migrants will remain to the north? And, perhaps most important, what will counting conditions be like during the critical weekend days? Time—and Christmas Bird Counters—will tell. We invite you to use both the current year and historical results tools on the CBC website to peruse detailed bird results over the past century. Or you can take a look at reports from... Read On | ||
|
| ||
International Adult Wildlife Photographer of the Year Like most bottom-feeders, the walrus has messy table manners. Gorging on bivalve shells, it first uses its facial bristles to brush away the sediment. Then it roots, pig-like, with its snout or beats a flipper, to whip up the sediment. That’s what is happening here. Swimming with this huge beast off northeast Greenland, Göran Ehlmé of Sweden took more than 400 images with his new digital camera. This meant he wasn’t limited to 36 before needing to surface to change film. The walrus, though, had to surface for air every four or five minutes. Hours later, after shooting from every angle, ‘the moment came’, says Göran. ‘The walrus looked round, and we made eye contact.’ It took Göran years of studying walrus behaviour to consider diving with them. ‘At first I was very nervous,’ he says, ‘but now I know how to approach them safely and respectfully’. This effort earned him the international Adult Wildlife Photographer of the Year honors. For camera buffs, he uses a Nikon D2x with 12-24mm lens; 1/50 sec at f4; 400 ISO; Seacam housing with wide-angle port. For more nature
photographs, see
the Gallery on WindStar's web site and Nature's Best Photographs Album in the American Wildlife Blog. | ||
|
| ||
Usually he's the "Bluebird of Happiness" but here he appears ruffled and disgusted with the onset of colder weather in this color photograph by Michael L. Smith. This is one of the most famous nature photographs ever created and originally was seen in a National Geographic Society birding book. We have framed and unframed prints in 5x7, 8x10, 11x14 and 16x20 inches. The talented photographer, Michael Smith, frames and signs each print. Find more Mad Bluebird and other nature gift suggestions in the Nature Shop | ||
|
| ||
Feds Reject Cerulean Warbler Protection THE PLIGHT of the disappearing Cerulean Warbler, a bright blue migratory songbird, is not grave enough to warrant protection as a federally threatened species, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In a decision this week, the agency acknowledged that the numbers of warblers summering in 33 states in the eastern and southern United States and wintering in South America have declined as much as 70 percent since the 1960s. However, the agency said, "We do not believe this species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future" and therefore was rejected for the second time since 1994 for listing as threatened and protected under the Endangered Species Act. The Cerulean Warbler remains protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, under which "you can't kill it, steal its eggs... Read On Mealworms
Not Fun For Minnesota Man
I JUST spent the scariest week of my life with breathing shortness (I could barely walk to the next room without running out of breath) Turns out I had a severe and common allergic reaction to my sons' mealworm farm. After 3 hospital visits, I was properly diagnosed and treated with... Read On Helping Birds Survive Winter
Cold | ||
|
|
|
|
That's it for this week. Be sure and sign up for the American Wildlife Blog for the latest commentary and please feel free to add comments of your own. Have An EXCELLENT Day in your WILDLIFE HABITAT! (Winter Friends!)
 Tom Patrick Email: wildlife@windstar.org
Phone: 301-293-3351
Web &
Blog: http://www.windstar.org |
|
