Clean air and water AND a great economy do go hand in hand.

Forbes ranks Switzerland as the cleanest country in the world. And guess which country has the most competitive economy as judged by the World Economic Forum? Good old Switzerland! Sweden is also very highly ranked on both fronts.

Feral Cats

Kasey and White-throated Sparrow
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson

Audubon magazine has a superb article about the feral cat "Trap, Neuter, Release" programs that are subsidizing feral cats, making them last longer as bird killers without reducing their numbers ANYWHERE. It's a great article which I strongly recommend.

My personal cat, Kasey, came from one of those ridiculous TNR programs--I took her in because I couldn't bear to watch her killing birds. She's very happy indoors. Those cats that cannot adapt to indoor life should be caged or humanely euthanized. Period.

Hawk Ridge Weekend--and I'll be there on Friday!!

I'm in Duluth until early Saturday. Yesterday was my first day in town so naturally I headed for Hawk Ridge. Russ and I walked around and saw the new overlook perch for the counters (it's way up high with a wonderful view!!). Karl Bardon, the counter, was up there staring into the blue sky--it was a slowish day and we were there at the tail end, but two kestrels came by nice and low. I got to meet Aldo Contreras, a counter visiting from Veracruz, too. Debbie Waters, the Naturalist, was up there, and Erik Bruhnke was serving as count interpreter. That was what I used to do most at Hawk Ridge, though informally. It's lovely to see that now it's a regular and valued job. Erik does absolutely wonderful work--he's a fountain of knowledge and he bubbles over with enthusiasm. His love for birds is contagious.

Hawk Ridge has evolved over recent years to be truly in a new Golden Age. I'll be there several times this week. And I was thrilled to discover that they're celebrating "Hawk Weekend" this coming weekend! So I'll get to be there Friday to hear Carrol Henderson's talk. Carrol has been the Minnesota DNR Nongame Wildlife Program supervisor since 1977, and is author of several great books including what I consider to be THE best book ever written about bird feeding, Wild About Birds: The DNR Bird-Feeding Guide. He'll be talking about his new book, "Birds in Flight: the Art and Science of How Birds Fly." I can't wait to see him, and all my other Duluth friends, again!

Photon meets the Atlantic Ocean

Photon
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson

I'd never let Photon run on a beach like this if there were shorebirds about. The next day in the same spot there were Semipalmated Plovers, but by then her 11-year-old muscles were pretty tired so she didn't mind the leash. I posted a whole set of her on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/48014585@N00/sets/72157622190458422/

A wee bit of hyperbole

Well, calling it a "wee bit" of hyperbole is committing the opposite sin, but check it out.

Check out the Cornell Blog of Ornithology!

Black-and-white Warbler
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson

Caren Cooper from the Lab of Ornithology attended the AOU meeting and wrote about the presentations regarding bird collisions. Windows are an enormous problem--they kill about a BILLION birds every year in the United States! Read about the meeting sessions here.

What fun! Paw Talk!

Tufted Titmouse
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson

I was interviewed for an article in the website Paw Talk this weekend, and it's up today. I love when pet owners are introduced to wild birds. Although wild birds cannot legally be kept as pets,and although birds don't have "paws," people pre-disposed to love animals (like me with my cat and my dog) are very welcome in the birding community. You can read the interview here.

Eureka!

Rooks are as smart as Archimedes--they, too, understand displacement.

Active babies!

Great Blue Heron
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson

What fun! They're starting to "fly" from branch to branch. This is the farthest any of them have ventured. So far.

Thse and more photos here.

My four handsome babies

Great Blue Heron family
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson

I have had more fun than I think I've ever had before watching these baby herons growing up. I put a bunch of photos of them, from the start of nesting through yesterday, into a Flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/48014585@N00/sets/72157621748114647/