Unless you’ve encountered a truly large flock of migrating songbirds, it’s difficult to imagine the mass exodus of neotropical migrants vacillating between North and South. In reality we only get small views of their journeys, filtered by space and time, augmented by our imaginations and… Read More
All posts filed under “Birds”
“Rescuing” a Barred Owl
“It’s been in there for about a week.” Hear this in a normal conversation and you would guess that it was…a package. A newly hung piece of art. Something molding in the fridge. But, no, in this case we were talking about a Barred Owl.… Read More
Into the Wilderness Pt. 1
Everywhere we looked a glaciated peak dominated the horizon, seemingly at arm’s length. We’d forgotten to sweat, the uphill toil, and the absurd reminders of humanity strapped to our backs. Nothing mattered except the light playing through clouds and the spangled mountain tops. Nothing was… Read More
The Cradle Robbers
I wonder if you’ve ever noticed something particular to mountain rest-stops, ski resort parking lots, state or national park campgrounds, or any other place where humans congregate in our typically distasteful, gregarious manner. Not the motor homes, not the camera adorned visitors, not the profound… Read More
Volcanoes and Wildflowers
As we walked down the trail, discussing life and the nature around us, I mentioned that I thought I was lucky to have parents who took me out as a kid. My mother didn’t seem to agree. Possibly she thought this because I am an… Read More
The (long) Tale of Two Big Days (with few bird photos)
Please excuse me while I catch up on my sleep. It’s June, weeks after my second big day with my fellow staff at Seattle Audubon, nearly a month post my first with fellow guides from Evergreen Escapes. I still don’t feel rested. I’ve never been… Read More
Birdwatch in Texas Pt. 1: Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
Back in April, I had an amazing, and typically tiring trip to South Texas. The following is my tardy beginning to a series on that trip. I wasn’t entirely sure why I was doing this. Then again, finding yourself in the Houston Airport at… Read More
The Sagebrush Country
(A note from Brendan: The main purpose of wingtrip (which is now essentially only written on by me, unless there are tempted contributors out there) is to fuse words, images, and in the near future, video, in discussion of exploring the natural world (hopefully with a… Read More
“And now for something completely different.”
Strip malls are the essence of vitriol, rising at the back of my throat. Who do people need several Starbucks or Walgreen’s within blocks of each other? The driver of the truck that was pushing us through this distracting mess of concrete read my mind.… Read More
Bad Pictures of “Good Birds”
Dawn was just breaking as we sped by Bellingham. I stared out the window, trying to quell my anxiety. Bald eagles held sentry over every field and rain was imminent, sodden gray clouds making it impossible to tell the North Cascades arched just to the… Read More