I’ve been meaning to thank you for your recommendation on the Cornell Bird app. It’s added a whole new dimension to our morning walks discovering the urban woodlands around the northern edge of Baltimore.
Up here in 78759 we've had great crested flycatchers and summer tanagers this last couple of weeks joined by chimney swifts the last few days. The screech owls in our box fledged and left last week. Most of my birdspotting is sadly done with a phone app since the live oaks are already too dense to see anything through...
Thank you for helping my Sundays have a more pleasant beginning. I live South of Alpine and the Merlin app doesn’t recognize many of the birds we have on our land. We have a black Ibis now.
Thank you for this installment of Field Notes. Always enjoy your writing. I do like the art on the abandoned lighting factory, although I certainly don't like the way we continue to so mindlessly spread our misuse of land. It's hard to imagine what it will take to place value on the ethics and consequences of allowing other species to retain their habitats. That never seems to be a consideration, and given the current political climate of Grab 'n' Go, along with Trump's boneheaded refusal to allow the United States to participate in the Paris Climate Accords and our attitude of "Land! How can we make money off it?", it's not likely that other species will warrant much consideration by business or by government in the near future.
Anyway, I recommended a film to you yesterday, and here's another one in which you might be interested. It's called "The White House Effect," and it starts with George H. W. Bush's promise to reduce the greenhouse effect if he were elected president. At AFS Cinema. Here's the web page blurb:
"In 1988, then Vice President George Bush Sr. declared that the country would soon experience “The White House effect” – an active presidential commitment to curbing the greenhouse effect if Bush himself were to be elected. With brilliant archival production, this documentary tracks political campaigns, media stories, environmental convenings, and internal memos from the federal government and oil companies to tell the story of how the US has dealt with climate change since the discovery of excess CO2 in the atmosphere. By allowing each historical moment to tell the story chronologically, the film offers profound insights into the United States’ failure and inaction — and the fight that has been there all along."
This is the last day of the AFS Doc Days festival, but there is another doc coming up, "An Army of
Women," this Thursday through next Sunday, concerning survivors of rape who are suing APD and the Austin District Attorney's office.
I hope you haven't minded my film recs: I'm crazy for film and want people to see work that I think they'd be interested in. However, realizing that you can check the screenings for yourself, I'll let you take care of that in the future. Thanks for your patience!
Thank you! I love these film recs, and just wish I had more time to attend screenings. As for making room for other species, the UK (under the Conservative government) recently adopted requirements that new real estate developments demonstrate a 10% net gain in biodiversity. I hope we can spread similar thinking here, though I agree the current climate is tough.
Awesome photos, as always, Chris, and I savor getting your reports on the herons. I love that raspy call they make. Re the great crested flycatchers, I think you should know that almost every time I take a walk here in East Travis Heights, just a block from the dusty awful interstate construction project, the Merlin app finds a great crested flycatcher. I rarely actually put eyes on them myself, but I hear them too. I found myself under some trees a couple of times at the overlook at Roy G. with a pair of them quite active and really clattering loudly and incessantly; it was great fun. FYI if you want to practice your identification of shore birds, Hornsby water treatment plant is really good around about now. Many long-billed dowitchers out there, along with Wilson's phalarope, least sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers, black-necked stilts, snow geese, blue-winged teal, etc. etc. This morning's Guardian has a really fine essay on Robert MacFarlane's book "Is a River Alive?" Thought-provoking, for sure.
I'm always struck with awe at your writing.
Thanks so much, Seth! 🙏
I’ve been meaning to thank you for your recommendation on the Cornell Bird app. It’s added a whole new dimension to our morning walks discovering the urban woodlands around the northern edge of Baltimore.
That’s awesome, Alan!
Up here in 78759 we've had great crested flycatchers and summer tanagers this last couple of weeks joined by chimney swifts the last few days. The screech owls in our box fledged and left last week. Most of my birdspotting is sadly done with a phone app since the live oaks are already too dense to see anything through...
Thank you for helping my Sundays have a more pleasant beginning. I live South of Alpine and the Merlin app doesn’t recognize many of the birds we have on our land. We have a black Ibis now.
It’s amazing to think black ibis would travel through such arid territory—but I guess there’s the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. So cool to hear—thanks!
Thank you for this installment of Field Notes. Always enjoy your writing. I do like the art on the abandoned lighting factory, although I certainly don't like the way we continue to so mindlessly spread our misuse of land. It's hard to imagine what it will take to place value on the ethics and consequences of allowing other species to retain their habitats. That never seems to be a consideration, and given the current political climate of Grab 'n' Go, along with Trump's boneheaded refusal to allow the United States to participate in the Paris Climate Accords and our attitude of "Land! How can we make money off it?", it's not likely that other species will warrant much consideration by business or by government in the near future.
Anyway, I recommended a film to you yesterday, and here's another one in which you might be interested. It's called "The White House Effect," and it starts with George H. W. Bush's promise to reduce the greenhouse effect if he were elected president. At AFS Cinema. Here's the web page blurb:
"In 1988, then Vice President George Bush Sr. declared that the country would soon experience “The White House effect” – an active presidential commitment to curbing the greenhouse effect if Bush himself were to be elected. With brilliant archival production, this documentary tracks political campaigns, media stories, environmental convenings, and internal memos from the federal government and oil companies to tell the story of how the US has dealt with climate change since the discovery of excess CO2 in the atmosphere. By allowing each historical moment to tell the story chronologically, the film offers profound insights into the United States’ failure and inaction — and the fight that has been there all along."
Will be screened at 3:45 today, Sunday, May 4.
https://www.austinfilm.org/screening/the-white-house-effect/
This is the last day of the AFS Doc Days festival, but there is another doc coming up, "An Army of
Women," this Thursday through next Sunday, concerning survivors of rape who are suing APD and the Austin District Attorney's office.
I hope you haven't minded my film recs: I'm crazy for film and want people to see work that I think they'd be interested in. However, realizing that you can check the screenings for yourself, I'll let you take care of that in the future. Thanks for your patience!
austinfilm.org/screenings/
Thank you! I love these film recs, and just wish I had more time to attend screenings. As for making room for other species, the UK (under the Conservative government) recently adopted requirements that new real estate developments demonstrate a 10% net gain in biodiversity. I hope we can spread similar thinking here, though I agree the current climate is tough.
Awesome photos, as always, Chris, and I savor getting your reports on the herons. I love that raspy call they make. Re the great crested flycatchers, I think you should know that almost every time I take a walk here in East Travis Heights, just a block from the dusty awful interstate construction project, the Merlin app finds a great crested flycatcher. I rarely actually put eyes on them myself, but I hear them too. I found myself under some trees a couple of times at the overlook at Roy G. with a pair of them quite active and really clattering loudly and incessantly; it was great fun. FYI if you want to practice your identification of shore birds, Hornsby water treatment plant is really good around about now. Many long-billed dowitchers out there, along with Wilson's phalarope, least sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers, black-necked stilts, snow geese, blue-winged teal, etc. etc. This morning's Guardian has a really fine essay on Robert MacFarlane's book "Is a River Alive?" Thought-provoking, for sure.
Thanks, Jesse! Great idea—I will try to get to Hornsby Bend this week.