The largest insect migration in the world ends each year in Michoacán, Mexico. Millions of monarch butterflies travel from the United States and Canada to pass the cold months in the towering trees of this beautiful forest. On their incredible journey, the butterflies travel around 2,800 miles.
We were doing one of our “virtual drinks and dinner” with friends from Denver last night and, as always, our conversation turned to what shows we were watching. I created this list for them and figured I would share it here, too. The first section is Netflix and the second are some of my favorite YouTube channels. — Douglas
The scientists running Seattle-based Oceans Initiative more typically apply their marine mammal expertise to research on endangered orcas or conservation of white-sided dolphins in Washington’s Puget Sound.
But the upside-down world of the new coronavirus and the closure of their nearly 6-year-old daughter’s school inspired them this week to launch what they’ve dubbed their Virtual Marine Biology Camp.
While we are all stuck at home, we might as well learn something. Check out these amazing Audubon bird painting then get outside yourself. — Douglas
In our experience, bird lovers fall into two general categories:
Keenly observant cataloguers like John James Audubon …
And those of us who cannot resist assigning anthropomorphic personalities and behaviors to the 435 stars of Audubon’s The Birds of America, a stunning collection of prints from life-size watercolors he produced between 1827 and 1838.
Our suspicions have little to do with biology, but rather, a certain zestiness of expression, an overemphatic beak, a droll gleam in the eye.
The Audubon Society’s newly redesigned website abounds with treasure for those in either camp:
Free high res downloads of all 435 plates.
Mp3s of each specimen’s call.
And vintage commentary that effectively splits the difference between science and the unintentionally humorous locutions of another age.
Our loans are through Navient. While they have a COVID-19 notice about the internet rates being set to 0%, under their forbearance section I am not yet seeing a COVID-19 forbearance choice, so it looks like lenders are still catching up to the quickly changing policies.
Check directly with your lender for more information!
President Trump said today that federal student loan borrowers can skip their payments for 60 days. But it’s not automatic.
From the Department of Education’s press release:
All borrowers with federally held student loans will automatically have their interest rates set to 0% for a period of at least 60 days. In addition, each of these borrowers will have the option to suspend their payments for at least two months to allow them greater flexibility during the national emergency.
There are many rules, guidelines, suggestions, and ideas around what makes a good photographic composition. Every person has their own particular aesthetic and way of seeing, and it can be difficult to find your way through all the information to a concept that works for you.
However, there is one simple tip that may be the easiest and quickest way for you to improve your images. It’s free and doesn’t usually require you to buy anything. All you need to do is stop, think, and make a different choice. What is that choice? The choice of changing your point of view.
I am a board member of Friends of the Island Fox and help do a variety of work to preserve this threatened/endangered species that live just right off our coastline. They are amazing animals and I highly encourage everyone to visit the Channel Islands (Santa Cruz Island is our usual destination) and spend some time among the foxes and other nature. It is a relatively quick 1.5 hour trip out from Ventura Harbor vis Island Packers. A great way to spend a day.
You can find many pictures of the channel island fox on my Instagram and Flickr photo accounts.
As a Valentine’s Birthday gift to me (and the foxes), please consider a donation to continue our work to protect and educate the public (through school programs and Road Scholar presentations) about this amazing animal in their own backyard.
You can donate any amount by visiting the Friends of the Island Fox web site and clicking the donate button. You’ll also find tons of information there about the foxes, their habitats, their issues and what we and our donors have done to help them, the National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy and many others.
It’s February – time to help the unique island foxes that live on California’s Channel Islands! Why does Friends of the Island Fox ask for your donations? Funding is essential for island fox conservation. You can help this pup. Won’t you be her Valentine?
In December of 2019, she was fitted with a radio-tracking collarfunded by FIF and had another whisker removed for analysis. All of this work–the examination and work by the technician; blood sample testing, the microchip, radio-tracking collar, and diagnostic research on the whiskers–requires funding.
That is where you can make a difference. We ask you to donate, so FIF can help fund important island fox conservation work across the Channel Islands in conjunction with the various island land managers.
Pup F257 has so much to tell us.
Throughout her life, when captured, her microchip reveals her identity. Her data, gathered during annual check-ups, will form her profile history. Data collected on individual foxes is valuable for researchers and understanding how to keep island fox populations healthy and stable. Her radio collar will monitor her movements and safety.
The analysis of her two whiskers will tell us how her diet has changed from a very young pup to her life at 10 months old. If the winter rains don’t return and F257 faces her first year in drought conditions, will she change her diet? FIF’s Research Grant recipients are investigating important science on island fox health. Are foxes finding adequate nutritional food in their island ecosystem? Can we expect F257 to live a lifespan of 8–12 years?
This young pup is starting her life on Santa Rosa Island. You can be part of her success. Your donation will help make sure she is watched over and healthy.
It’s the easiest thing in the world to take a photo. You aim and press, and you’ve captured a moment, which in time will turn into a treasured memory. But did you know that with just a little bit more effort and barely any time, you can turn those captures into something more? Something that offers the subject the respect it deserves. Something that is a pleasure to look at even before the shimmer of nostalgia is sprinkled onto it by time, and something you’ll be proud to share.
With these five basic steps, you will notice an immediate improvement in your photos. Once you’ve started giving it just a little bit more thought, it’ll become a natural part of your photography.
For decades, Alan Lomax traveled across America, the Caribbean and Europe, with a recorder and a camera in hand, trying to document traditional folk cultures before they disappeared.
Lomax was, in fact, the most famous American folklorist of the 20th century — the first person to record blues greats Muddy Waters and Lead Belly, the man who took down the oral histories of Jelly Roll Morton and Woody Guthrie, the chronicler of religious rites in Haiti and “ring shout” rituals from the Sea Islands off the Atlantic coast.
In his notebooks, Lomax documented his encounters with performers, his extensive travel and his collaborations with famous figures such as Pete Seeger, Zora Neale Hurston and his folklorist father, John Lomax. The Lomax family, friends and colleagues transcribed many of the performances and interviews he undertook during his years of fieldwork — including his stint as a Library employee from 1937 to 1942.
