If I can't be a dragon-whisperer, can I at least befriend a talking dog?
The January day I went looking for the pink-footed goose, I also saw a barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis). Normally found in Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard, and the U.K., the barnacle goose is a rare visitor to Colorado. Even though we were already searching for a rare bird, the way I saw the barnacle goose made it... Continue Reading →
The more you learn, the more there is to learn. This is true about every part of my life, but one of the clearest examples is the cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii). Cackling geese are very similar to the ubiquitous Canada goose (Branta canadensis) seen on ponds and lawns all over North America, so similar that... Continue Reading →
How lucky to see a pink-footed goose in Colorado!
When we were driving to Texas (nearly twenty years ago), Kurt made a surprise stop in Lafayette, Louisiana to show me something special. It was the Cypress Island Preserve on Lake Martin, an oasis in the midst of developed land, a rookery packed with wading birds. I was not yet an active birder, so I... Continue Reading →
While visiting Hawai'i in November, my lifelist* got a big bump. I'd been to the Big Island in 2007, but I wasn't keeping track of the birds I saw at that time. In fact, the only bird I remember from that trip was the one I didn't see: the endangered Hawaiian goose, known as the... Continue Reading →
