Beautiful photos. If you care about birds and whales, you should be concerned that wind turbines are killing them. Michael Shellenberger is a much more nuanced writer than McKibben, whose fearmongering has affected your thinking: https://public.substack.com/p/the-film-that-could-save-an-entire
I live in one of the osprey migration hotspots in the UK. They pass through Poole Harbour in Dorset, UK, feeding as they go. Not huge numbers by any means, but enough to warm the heart. For the second year, ospreys have also nested in Poole Harbour, and chicks have fledged. First time in roughly 180 years.
I’d heard of this phenomenon in our turkey vulture population here on Vancouver Island. Every year at the same time (September 30, give or take a day or two) they kettle in huge numbers around the tip of East Sooke, then they all cross the Salish Sea together, heading south into the US across the Straight of Juan de Fuca. But now I know more about why, thank you
I love, as always, how you ground us while letting us fly with all the miracles this world freely gifts. And appreciated what McKibben wrote a while back about there being no real climate refuge, only resilient communities.
And I'd love to see one of these. The Hawk Migration Assocation's site shows a couple Montana Hawk Watch points near me, yay! But one of them is Mount Brown, which I am not going anywhere near. Experienced hikers die on that mountain with depressing regularity (usually by falling). But Jewel Basin is one of my lifelong favorites. (Enjoyed this description of "how to get there": "At this point, you will turn left and follow the goat trail north along the ridgeline about mile to the observation point, where the trail essentially ends at the top of a rock face." I've eaten lunch right there so many times. 🥪)
Thank you Bryan. Topping off the madness of floods with the delightful soaring of beautiful creatures above us says it all. Perhaps I will get off of "the hill" here and travel to Mt. Philo someday.
Thanks for this post. I live very close to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and it is indeed migration season. I worry about the birds, all of them. And I worry about our planet.
Collective nouns for animals are very interesting. After reading 'kettle' of hawks in this post I looked it up and saw that 'leash' and 'cast' are also used for hawks in different contexts.
There has been some great work done with Amur Falcons in the North east of India. Tribes used to trap them in the hundreds for food during migration. The work done by conservationists along with government action changed that to one of protection and the village of Pangti in Nagaland has become a flag-bearer of that positive change.
Wonderfully written and educational, as always! And agree with the climate crisis effects on our earth and our inhabitants. I wonder about the adaptation of these (and all creatures) as part of this change. A Cooper's hawk perched on our patio in the heart of the city of Albuquerque only 2 days after we had started (and have since ceased) letting the barn-kitten-turned-domestic-housecat have her daily patio time. I realize they are astute with the finding of prey and I wonder how they are adapting to do so in unlikely areas and with such confidence. We have it on video and it is remarkable.
Hawks and Humans on a Burning Planet
There was a smallish "kettle " of hawks over MOntpelier proper last weekend. Glad to know what I was actually seeing!
Beautiful photos. If you care about birds and whales, you should be concerned that wind turbines are killing them. Michael Shellenberger is a much more nuanced writer than McKibben, whose fearmongering has affected your thinking: https://public.substack.com/p/the-film-that-could-save-an-entire
Many scientists including several Nobel laureates have signed onto a declaration that there is no climate emergency: https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/heres-climate-dissent-youre-not-hearing-about-because-its-muffled-societys-top-institutions
I live in one of the osprey migration hotspots in the UK. They pass through Poole Harbour in Dorset, UK, feeding as they go. Not huge numbers by any means, but enough to warm the heart. For the second year, ospreys have also nested in Poole Harbour, and chicks have fledged. First time in roughly 180 years.
Wow. That was just a beautiful essay.
Beautiful - I love how you weave the political with the natural, them with us... and love that photo, legs up to the sky! 😄
Beautiful
I’d heard of this phenomenon in our turkey vulture population here on Vancouver Island. Every year at the same time (September 30, give or take a day or two) they kettle in huge numbers around the tip of East Sooke, then they all cross the Salish Sea together, heading south into the US across the Straight of Juan de Fuca. But now I know more about why, thank you
Your insight and wonderful info is always appreciated. Thank you. Jo Lafayette
I love, as always, how you ground us while letting us fly with all the miracles this world freely gifts. And appreciated what McKibben wrote a while back about there being no real climate refuge, only resilient communities.
And I'd love to see one of these. The Hawk Migration Assocation's site shows a couple Montana Hawk Watch points near me, yay! But one of them is Mount Brown, which I am not going anywhere near. Experienced hikers die on that mountain with depressing regularity (usually by falling). But Jewel Basin is one of my lifelong favorites. (Enjoyed this description of "how to get there": "At this point, you will turn left and follow the goat trail north along the ridgeline about mile to the observation point, where the trail essentially ends at the top of a rock face." I've eaten lunch right there so many times. 🥪)
My mom was a lifelong birder, and Hawk Watch was a major event on her calendar every year!
Oh, yes.
Beautiful, Bryan. The writing here has such a light touch yet carries real weight. I might even make a bird metaphor out of it... Really nicely done.
Thank you Bryan. Topping off the madness of floods with the delightful soaring of beautiful creatures above us says it all. Perhaps I will get off of "the hill" here and travel to Mt. Philo someday.
Thanks for this post. I live very close to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and it is indeed migration season. I worry about the birds, all of them. And I worry about our planet.
Collective nouns for animals are very interesting. After reading 'kettle' of hawks in this post I looked it up and saw that 'leash' and 'cast' are also used for hawks in different contexts.
There has been some great work done with Amur Falcons in the North east of India. Tribes used to trap them in the hundreds for food during migration. The work done by conservationists along with government action changed that to one of protection and the village of Pangti in Nagaland has become a flag-bearer of that positive change.
Wonderfully written and educational, as always! And agree with the climate crisis effects on our earth and our inhabitants. I wonder about the adaptation of these (and all creatures) as part of this change. A Cooper's hawk perched on our patio in the heart of the city of Albuquerque only 2 days after we had started (and have since ceased) letting the barn-kitten-turned-domestic-housecat have her daily patio time. I realize they are astute with the finding of prey and I wonder how they are adapting to do so in unlikely areas and with such confidence. We have it on video and it is remarkable.