Two years ago this stand was all dark trunks and loose soil, dusty with soot. The canopy here seems even more diminished, sun rays more harsh on my stubbornly and blindingly untanned appendages. Some things are the same as before, when I trip and catch… Read More
Discussions of natural history can’t escape a parallel human history. Living in Western North America, shadows of the multifarious frontiersman haven’t slipped from the horizon. I’ve been dwelling heavily on these explorers, here for new opportunities, to claim land for their sovereignty, or to assess… Read More
He’d been sitting there for twenty minutes, tooting at the young Red-tailed Hawk soaring over head. The hawk was attempting to mind its business, but two Common Ravens were relentlessly dive bombing it, drawing the whole forest below into a reel of uneasy glances and… Read More
When the mercury dips, people who have the option head inside. It’s fairly obvious other animals don’t have that choice quite so readily available to them. Sure, I’d be happy to share my room with a menagerie of critters in a snow storm, but I… Read More
“I wish our common birds were ridiculously colorful.” Ryan, Scott, and I were eating a “breakfast” of Pad Thai in Chaing Mai, on plastic seats in a street stall facing the river Pai. Opposite a Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) and not far from a… Read More
Brendan McGarry: I’m guessing that you were working hard for a short period of time and that was about it – did you have any time for recreating or was it just eat, sleep, work? Ben Freeman: We were pretty regimented due to the amount… Read More
(When I go on week long trips, see massive amounts, and come back with a lot to say, brevity goes out the door. I appreciate all my readers, however few, and I promise shorter entries in the future. However, I hope you enjoy my notes… Read More
I’d like to preface with a warning. This entry contains the manic depictions of deviants. Birding has many manifestations. Some are the gentle musing of the causal observer, no less informed, simply less hastened or statistic driven. This is a trip report of the absurdist,… Read More
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul.” – John Muir It’s been 40 years since the first Earth Day. Some might suggest not much… Read More
Danner’s truck skidded through a huge mud puddle and we all held on for dear life. Speeding through the Pitayal at 7am I couldn’t have felt more contented. A behemoth above the desert landscape, the fig tree of the ranch loomed ahead. As AWA began… Read More
Wingtrip 