Bird Explorers Blog

Norway: A Shining Beacon in the Midst of Adversity

2011-07-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

In the last week, Norway has suffered an episode of violence unknown since the Second World War. In this adversity Norway has remained a shining beacon to world. On a procession of roses that was presided over by the Crown Prince Haakon Magnus, Crown Princess Mette-Merit and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, some of the most moving speeches of recent history were given.

The article is a tribute to all who lost their lives and were injured and to show solidarity with the brave and progressive people of Norway in their hour of need.

Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his wife Ingrid joined the vast crowed taking part in the rally

Crown Prince Haakon, Corwn Princess Mette-Marit, and Princess Martha Louise pay their emotional respects during the rose procession

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, his wife Ingrid, Princess Martha Louise, Prince Haakon and his wife Princess Mette-Marit, former prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland and the chairman of the Labour Youth Movement, Eskil Pedersen

Speech of Jens Stoltenberg to the Procession:

English Translation:

Dear all assembled,

What a sight!
I now stand face to face with the people’s will.
You are the will of the people.
Thousands upon thousands of Norwegians in Oslo and all over the country are doing the same this evening.
Taking to the streets, squares - the public sphere with the same defiant message:
We are broken, but we will not give up.
With torches and roses, we give the world a message.
We will not let the fear break us.
And we will not let the fear silence us.
-
What a sea of humanity I see before me here today, and the warmth I feel from people across the country makes me confident in my case.
Norway is the evidence.
Evil can kill a human, but can never defeat a people.
This evening, the Norwegian people write history.
With the strongest of all the world's weapons, free speech and democracy, the goals we head for Norway after 22 July 2011.
-
There is a Norway before and after 22 July.
But which Norway, we decide ourselves.
Norway will again be recognizable.
Our response has grown in strength through the incomprehensible hours, days and nights we have behind us, and the power is confirmed tonight.
More transparency, more democracy. Strength to strength.
This is us. This is Norway.
We shall take our security back.
-
After the attacks in Oslo and Utøya, we have been united in shock, despair and sorrow.
So it still is, but not only so.
Slowly, the first of us start to get ready to face a life again. Others will need more time.
It is important that we respect differences. All ways of grieving are just as normal.
-
Still it is important to take care of each other.
Showing care.
Talk to those who are hit hardest.
Be fellows.
We are gathered here have a message for you who have lost one of your loved ones:
We are here for you.
-
In addition, we will direct our attention to Norway after 22 July 2011.
We should beware of drawing too many firm conclusions, as we are a country in mourning, but some promises we can give each other early in the evening.

In the first place.

Out of all the evil we see paradoxically enough the germ of something valuable.
What we see this evening what may be the biggest march that the Norwegian people have undertaken since World War II.
A march for democracy, unity and tolerance.
-
People all over the country are at this moment shoulder to shoulder.
We can learn from it. Doing more of it.
Each one of us can make democracy stronger. We see it here.
-
Second.
To the young I would say this.
The massacre on Utøya is also an attack on the dream of young people's to contribute to a better world.
Their dream was brutally crushed.
Your dreams can become reality.
You can carry forward the spirit of the evening. You can make a difference.
Do it!
My request is simple.
Engage! Care!
Come into organizations. Participate in debates.
Use your vote.
Free elections are the jewel in the crown of democracy.
By participating, you are a giving a resounding yes to democracy.
-
To end.
I am infinitely grateful to live in a country where people at a critical time will take to the streets with flowers and lights to strike a beat for democracy.
And to honor and remember those we have lost.
It shows that the Nordahl Grieg was right:
"We are so few in this country, every fallen are brothers and friends"
-
We will take this with us when we are embarking on efforts to shape Norway after 22 July 2011.
Our fathers and mothers promised each other "No more 9 April "
We say" No more 22 July. "

Norwegian Original:

Kjære alle sammen,

For et syn!
Jeg står nå ansikt til ansikt med folkeviljen.
Dere er folkeviljen.
Tusener på tusener av nordmenn, i Oslo og over hele landet, gjør det samme i kveld.
Erobrer gatene, torgene – det offentlige rom med samme trassige budskap:
Vi er sønderknust, men vi gir oss ikke.
Med fakler og roser gir vi verden beskjed.
Vi lar ikke frykten knekke oss.
Og vi lar ikke frykten for frykt kneble oss.
-
Det folkehavet jeg ser foran meg her i dag, og den varmen jeg kjenner fra mennesker over hele landet gjør meg sikker i min sak.
Norge består prøven.
Ondskap kan drepe et menneske, men aldri beseire et folk.
I kveld skriver det norske folk historie.
Med det sterkeste av alle verdens våpen, det frie ord og demokrati, staker vi ut kursen for Norge etter 22. juli 2011.
-
Det blir et Norge før og et etter 22. juli.
Men hvilket Norge bestemmer vi selv.
Norge skal være til å kjenne igjen.
Vårt svar har vokst i styrke gjennom de ubegripelige timene, dagene og nettene vi har bak oss, og det bekreftes med kraft i kveld.
Mer åpenhet, mer demokrati. Fasthet og styrke.
Det er oss. Det er Norge.
Vi skal ta tryggheten tilbake!
-
Etter angrepene i Oslo og på Utøya har vi vært forent i sjokk, fortvilelse og sorg.
Slik vil det fortsatt være, men ikke bare slik.
Sakte vil de første av oss begynne å bli klare til å møte en hverdag igjen. Andre vil trenge mer tid.
Det er viktig at vi respekterer ulikhetene. Alle måter å sørge på er like normale.
-
Fortsatt gjelder det å ta vare på hverandre.
Vise omsorg.
Snakke med dem som er rammet hardest.
Være medmennesker.
Vi som er samlet her har en beskjed til dere som har mistet en av deres kjæreste:
Vi er her for dere.
-
I tillegg skal vi rette blikket mot Norge etter 22. juli 2011.
Vi skal vokte oss for å trekke for mange, og for bastante konklusjoner mens vi er et land i sorg, men noen løfter kan vi gi hverandre allerede i kveld.
For det første.
Ut av alt det vonde øyner vi paradoksalt nok spiren til noe verdifullt.
Det vi ser i kveld kan være den største og den viktigste marsjen det norske folk har lagt ut på siden den 2. verdenskrig.
En marsj for demokrati, samhold og toleranse.
-
Folk over hele landet står i dette øyeblikk skulder ved skulder.
Vi kan lære av det. Gjøre mer av det.
Hver og en av oss kan gjøre demokratiets vev litt sterkere. Det ser vi her.
-
For det andre.
Til de unge vil jeg si dette.
Massakren på Utøya er også et angrep på unge menneskers drøm om å bidra til en bedre verden.
Deres drømmer ble brutalt knust.
Dine drømmer kan bli virkelighet.
Du kan føre videre ånden fra i kveld. Du kan gjøre en forskjell.
Gjør det!
Min oppfordring er enkel.
Engasjer dere. Bry dere.
Meld dere inn i en organisasjon. Delta i debatter.
Bruk stemmeretten.
Frie valg er juvelen i demokratiets krone.
Ved å delta sier du et rungende ja til demokrati.
-
Til slutt.
Jeg er uendelig takknemlig over å leve i et land der folk i en kritisk tid tar til gatene med blomster og lys for å slå ring om demokratiet.
Og for å hedre og minnes dem vi har mistet.
Det viser at Nordahl Grieg hadde rett:
”Vi er så få her til lands, hver fallen er bror og venn”
-
Dette skal vi ta med oss når vi tar fatt på arbeidet med å forme Norge etter 22. juli 2011.
Våre fedre og mødre lovet hverandre ”Aldri mer 9. april”
Vi sier ”Aldri mer 22. juli”.

Speech of Crown Prince Haakon to the Procession:

English Translation:

Tonight the streets are filled with love.

We have chosen to respond to cruelty with closeness.

We have chosen to meet hatred with unity.

We have chosen to show what we stand for.

Norway is a country in mourning. We think of all those who have suffered losses and those missing.

On all who made a heroic effort to save lives and restore our peace of mind. And our leaders who have been put on the difficult place in recent days.

Those who were in Utøya and inside the Ministries were targets of terror, but it affects us all.

Clear and terrible. We have seen how much impact an individual's actions can have.

It also shows that it matters what attitudes each of us, what we choose to build our lives on. And how we choose to use it best for each other and the community we live in.

After 22 July, we never again allow ourselves to think that our views and opinions are irrelevant. We must face every day, prepared to fight for the free and open society we are so fond of.

Dear young people: You are our courage and our hope. It is you who will shape and determine which Norway we will have in the years ahead. Each one of you is priceless. But we have lost so many.

The Norway that we will have, no one will take from us.

In the evening, the streets are filled with love.

We are faced with a choice. We can not do what was undone.

But we can choose what this will do to us as a society and as individuals.

We can decide that no one should have to stand alone.

We can choose to stand together.

It's up to each one of us now. It is up to you and it's up to me.

Together we have a job to do. It's a job to be done around the dinner tables, in cafeterias, in organizations, the volunteers, the men and women, rural and urban.

We will have a Norway where we live together in communion with the freedom to think, where we see differences as opportunities, for freedom is stronger than fear.

In the evening, the streets are filled with love.

Original Norwegian:

I kveld er gatene fylt av kjærlighet.

Vi har valgt å besvare grusomhet med nærhet.

Vi har valgt å møte hat med samhold.

Vi har valgt å vise hva vi står for.

Norge er et land i sorg. Vi tenker på alle som har lidd tap. Som savner.

På alle som gjorde en heroisk innsats for å redde liv og gjenopprette tryggheten vår. Og på lederne våre som har blitt satt på vanskelige prøver de siste dagene.

De som oppholdt seg på Utøya og i Regjeringskvartalet var mål for terroren, men den rammer oss alle.

Tydelig og forferdelig har vi sett hvor store konsekvenser enkeltmenneskers handlinger kan få.

Det viser samtidig at det betyr noe hvilke holdninger hver enkelt av oss har, hva vi velger å bygge livene våre på. Og hvordan vi velger å bruke det til beste for hverandre og samfunnet vi lever i.

Etter 22. juli kan vi aldri igjen tillate oss å tenke at våre meninger og holdninger er uten betydning. Vi må møte hver dag, rustet til kamp for det frie og åpne samfunnet vi er så glad i.

Kjære unge: Dere er vårt korrektiv, vårt mot og vårt håp. Det er dere som skal forme og bestemme hvilket Norge vi skal ha i årene framover. Hver og en av dere er umistelige. Men vi har mistet mange.

Det Norge vi vil ha skal ingen ta fra oss.

I kveld er gatene fylt av kjærlighet.

Vi står overfor et valg. Vi kan ikke gjøre det som skjedde ugjort.

Men vi kan velge hva dette skal gjøre med oss som samfunn og som enkeltmennesker.
Vi kan velge at ingen skal måtte stå alene

Vi kan velge å stå sammen.

Det er opp til hver enkelt av oss nå. Det er opp til deg og det er opp til meg.

Sammen har vi en jobb å gjøre. Det er en jobb som må gjøres rundt middagsbordet, i kantina, i organisasjonslivet, i det frivillige, av menn og av kvinner, i distriktene og i byen.

Vi vil ha et Norge hvor vi lever sammen i fellesskap med frihet til å mene og ytre oss, hvor vi ser forskjeller som muligheter, hvor friheten er sterkere enn frykten.

I kveld er gatene fylt av kjærlighet.

Cassowary Emergency Relief Update

2011-02-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

Dear Bird Explorers Friends

We are monitoring the Cassowary Emergency Relief Operations following Cyclone Yasi in Queensland and letting all our friends and colleagues around the world know what is going on.

The Cassowary Relief Program is in full swing and the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) is now coordinating all the various governmental, private and NGO cassowary relief efforts. DERM has established a Cassowary Response Team (CRT).

Please see the update below from Deb Pople of DERM’s Wet Tropics Management Agency.

Hi everyone,

DERM staff have undertaken on-ground and “fly-over” assessments of some of the affected areas and the results are informing preparation of the response plan. The ranges behind Cardwell and Ingham are likely to have been affected, but have not yet been assessed (members of WTMA’s Scientific Advisory Committee who met yesterday are also concerned about mahogany glider habitat which has been hard hit – any observation from the area would be welcome). A further fly-over assessment of affected areas will occur tomorrow with Dr David Westcott CSIRO scientist and member of the Cassowary Recovery Team. Subject to aerial assessment, an aerial food drop at selected sites is expected to occur by the end of the week. New monitoring cameras are being purchased and GIS mapping from Cyclone Larry is being reviewed re. the location of feeding stations and cameras. Subject to access restrictions, feed stations will be progressively set up over the coming weeks. The Garner’s Beach Cassowary Facility has significant structural damage and no power but all 4 birds in care have survived and efforts are being made to make the facilityoperational as soon as possible.

DERM’s Cassowary Response Team (CRT) is being supported by a team at DERM’s head office, and information materials, media, briefings, etc from Cyclone Larry are being reviewed and updated to inform post-Yasi response. As previously stated, the views of Cassowary Recovery Team and those involved with the post-Larry response are welcome. Stakeholder engagement is being led by Cassowary Response Team and supported by WTMA. Terrain have also offered assistance within the Mission Beach community – thanks Tony. Bob Irwin, Save The Cassowary and Rainforest Rescue (let me know if you’re aware of any others) have all started campaigns to raise funds for post-cyclone cassowary conservation. A few of you have enquired about costs: the post cyclone Larry feeding program cost approximately $500,000 and ran for over 18 months. It’s not possible to calculate how much it will cost per cassowary per day to run the post Yasi programme, but DERM anticipates needing to supply approximately 1100 kg’s of fruit per week, and costs are likely to exceed several thousand dollars per week.

Andrew Millerd is speaking to Bob Irwin to discuss co-ordination of volunteer efforts, and we hope that everyone will be pulling together to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure the most effective outcomes. There is a lot of interest in cassowaries as a result of the cyclone, and if we caneffectively harness public concern it may help to leverage longer-term support for cassowary research, conservation, and habitat restoration. The speed of response from conservation groups has been amazing and will no doubt provide a vital contribution to recovery efforts.

From media reports, we’re aware that some residents in the Mission Beach area have started hand-feeding cassowaries. Please take every opportunity to discourage this. Habituation of birds to humans rarely ends well. We’ll be trying to ensure that information is disseminatedthroughout affected areas as soon as possible. We’ve also heard concerns from some of you about people speeding on the roads around Mission Beach despite the amount debris, and with cassowaries likely to be on the move this is a real concern. If you know these people, please remindthem to slow down. I think C4 has been distributing cassowary car stickers for a small donation? We’ll be happy to send some more down, just let us know.
I’ll send updates at least every few days to keep you all in the loop.

Best wishes, Deb
Deb Pople
Senior Planning Officer, Wet Tropics Management Agency

Telephone: 07 4052 0543 Facsimile: 07 4031 1364
Email: Deborah.Po...@derm.qld.gov.au
www.wettropics.qld.gov.au

Department of Environment and Resource Management
Level 1, Corporate Tower
15 Lake Street, Cairns QLD 4870

Also Bob Irwin, the late Steve Irwin’s father, is taking action and has established Mission Cassowary. The first priority is to establish temporary food stations and generate a driver awareness campaign to avoid a cassowary road toll in the post cyclone cleanup. They have already raised heaps of funds. They got us to broadcast the message of Mission Cassowary to all of our 4000 Bird Explorer Facebook friends.

To donate go to their website here: http://www.bobirwinwildlife.com/

Bird Explorers Christmas Letter 2010

2010-12-19T08:52:00.000-08:00

Blue Tit from 2009 Christmas Trip to Sweden

To all our wonderful friends:

2010 brought many changes, but all in all was very kind and gentle to both of us. After our move to Bangkok, Thailand in early 2009 and using most of the year to settle in and get our bearings, Wojciech headed out into a brand new assignment in early 2010. In March, he received a placement with UN OCHA in Northern Sri Lanka based in Vavuniya. He would be working in this role until November 2010.

While it is never good being separated for so long, the assignment was an excellent experience, and Wojciech was able to be integrally involved in helping the people of this war-torn region to begin to try to get back their normal lives and routines after decades of civil war. Wojciech dealt daily with critical issues like mine clearing, resettlement of displaced people and protection for vulnerable women and children. It was very hard work and very long hours, but the rewards of helping people to get back on their feet are very strong. Wojciech was also surrounded by fantastic colleagues in the UN and other development NGOs and formed lots of close bonds over the year.

Back in Bangkok, Kevin continued enjoying his role of the South and Southeast Asia Director for the World Society for the Protections of Animals. Helping the region’s bears, elephants and other wildlife as well as working to help companion animals and addressing the many issues with dogs and cats is very rewarding although we still have such a long way to go out here in the region. In addition to helping the region’s animals, WSPA is very fulfilling in being able to work with so many committed and talented young people in a fun and energetic multi-cultural office with staff comprised of citizens of Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and France and lots of visitors from other places.

WSPA Staff at 2010 Christmas Party

With Wojciech based in Sri Lanka, we both organised our wildlife photography work around South Asia, with 2 expeditions to Sri Lanka and 2 to India including Kashmir and Rajasthan as well as many short trips in both countries.

Chukar from Kashmir

Kevin also got a small trip to the Dorsett countryside around Weymouth and Portland, where he finally tracked down and got good photos of the illusive Bearded Reedling.

Bearded Reedling

The Sri Lanka expeditions were quite fun and took us to many parts of the island’s south from the coast up to the highlands. In the end, we photographed 19 of the 24 endemic species and 40 of the 74 endemic subspecies including the world’s rarest owl, Serendib Scops-Owl.

Serendib Scops-Owl

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

Another fun development in 2010 was the growth in Social Networking for us. Our Bird Explorers Facebook account went from a few hundred to now over 3,300 from over 100 countries. We have no idea why it got so popular, but we are very much enjoying meeting so many new and interesting people from around the globe. Anyone wanting to join our Facebook Page can just search Bird Explorers and you will find us.

The end of the year finds us in Poland enjoying the cold and snowy conditions after so much heat and tropical humidity this year. This is Wojciech’s first time home for Christmas in 17 years, as we normally have gone back at Easter. So, we are decorating the house from stem to stern and cooking up a storm. Wojciech’s mom is very happy to have him home.

Wojciech playing in the snow with Borsuk and Wiewiórka

Kevin playing in the snow with Borsuk and Wiewiórka

We are very thankful for the nice year, and hope that all of you have had a wonderful year too. There is so much difficulty and pain in the world these days, so we are truly grateful for our blessings that we have and try our best to never take them for granted and help our fellow citizens and animal friends the best we can. May 2011 likewise be good, gentle and kind to everyone. Whatever form your holidays and new year takes, we greatly appreciate your friendship and wish you all the best!!

Thanks to everyone for the great and rich friendships.

Wojciech and Kevin

Ceylon Magpie

New BirdLife International Community Page

2010-06-23T02:08:00.000-07:00

BirdLife International has just created a new BirdLife Community Area on their Website.

Their Communication's Officer sent out the following email:

BirdLife is the world’s largest global alliance of conservation organisations that share a mission: to conserve wild birds, their habitats and global biodiversity. We have Partners in over 100 countries, with 2.5 million members and 8 million supporters. Our popular website receives over 1,500,000 unique visitors each year, and we’re often the first to publish the biggest bird conservation news of the day.

I’m writing because we’re just launching a new area of our website that we hope you’ll be interested in – The BirdLife Community. The BirdLife Community is the place online to discuss the latest news from the frontline in biodiversity protection. We’re now publishing many more news stories, and also blog and video posts from the frontline of conservation.

We’ve also started a new BirdLife Flickr group for people to share their best images of birds and nature.

We at Bird Explorers have always valued our BirdLife colleagues with very high esteem, and they have done an enormous amount to raise the profile of birds around the world and create projects to assist endangered birds and their critical habitats. So please join us in checking out their new Community Page and engaging in the dialogue there.

Kevin is currently in Bangkok and Wojciech is in Sri Lanka. Wojciech is on assignment with UN OCHA in Northern Sri Lanka for 6 months working to help resettle Internally Displaced People from the civil war from refugee camps back to their homes. Here are some preliminary photos from when Wojciech had a break in the Kitulgala Forest in Southwest Sri Lanka a few weeks ago:

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Cyornis tickelliae jerdoni, male, endemic Sri Lanka subspecies

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Cyornis tickelliae jerdoni, male, endemic Sri Lanka subspecies

Dark-fronted Babbler, Rhopocichla atriceps nigrifrons, endemic Sri Lanka subspecies

Lesser Yellownape, Picus chlorolophus wellsi, endemic Sri Lanka subspecies

Also Kevin's visit to the London International Office of the World Society for the Protection of Animals afforded him a brief break in Dorset where he was able to photograph the majestic Bearded Reedling at Lodmoor RSPB Reserve.

Bearded Reedling, Panurus biarmicus biarmicus, male. Lodmoor RSPB Reserve, Weymouth, Dorset, England

Wojciech and Kevin will be teaming up in July to do an extensive bird photographic survey of the Southwest Sri Lankan forests around Sinharaja Rain Forest and should be getting lots more great photos in our never ending quest to photograph all the birds of the world.

Missing John Denver

2009-10-10T23:25:00.001-07:00

Today I am stuck in Ha Noi, Viet Nam a humid, smoky city in early autumn as rice paddies surrounding the city are undergoing their end of season burn-off. I am in Viet Nam working on the Bear Farming Program of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). There are 4000 beautiful Asian moon bears and sun bears in captivity in Viet Nam, many of which are still illegally tapped for bile in the most horrible conditions you can imagine. Although we are working hard to rescue them and get many of them into sanctuaries, it is still very sad and depressing work. And being alone here with my partner at home in Bangkok, I am having the Sunday blues.

Suddenly, for whatever reason I have no idea, John Denver's song, I Guess he'd rather be in Colorado popped into my head.

I went to youtube and found the above music video and remembered that tomorrow is the anniversary of John Denver's death in 1997. I cried. I miss him and his music a lot. No one has ever since come along and filled his shoes, and sung for the forests and the animals the way he did. His songs of longing for the wilderness and for quiet, solitude and beauty of nature have stirred my heart and soul since I was a boy.

While I love the work I do in Asia and Africa to help animals and people, all the suffering gets to me sometimes, and in my heart I long for the days of my youth running barefoot along the Great Sacandaga River in the Adirondacks of Upstate New York. The beautiful fall colours at this time of year. Thanksgiving. The wonderful family, most of whom are gone or like me scattered on the wind.

I miss the time I spent at university in Missoula Montana, and Eugene Oregon, running around the northern Rocky Mountains and Cascade Mountains carefree and having the time of life. The summers I would roam up into Canada and Alaska or across the pond in the Arctic of Norway and Sweden. Those were the days!!

Somehow John Denver's music can bring it all back to my mind and soul in both a sad and longing way, but also in a comforting and warm way. Sometimes though, I wished I could have grown old with him and his music. That he would have kept on writing and singing those great songs until we were both old and grey. But alas, it was not meant to be, but his songs will always be there to rescue me in times like today and give me courage and strength to keep fighting for the bears and any other animal that needs help.

Anyway, enough of my overly tragic sentimentality. Raise a glass of the best brew to John Denver tomorrow on the anniversary of his death. We miss you John and thanks for the music that will live fore
ever.

And Remember our beautiful friends the bears!!

International Vulture Awareness Day

2009-09-05T00:47:00.000-07:00

Vultures are totally some of the coolest things in nature. The first time I ever saw a vulture was in Pennsylvania, USA. Hiking through the forest with my my grandfather when I was about 6 or 7 years old. We were sitting quietly just resting after a walking up a hill. On a large, old branch just above our heads, two turkey vultures perched. I was in total awe as I had never been so close to such big birds and had no idea what they were. I still have that instant memory in my mind and have carried it with me all my life. Little did I know then as a small boy, that later in life I would be travelling the globe watching and photographing vultures along with all the other amazing birdlife that this great world holds

American Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus brasiliensis, Sucumbios, Ecuador

Ode to a Turkey Vulture

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, –and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of –Wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air…
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark or even eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Eurasian Griffon, Gyps fulvus fulvescens, Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India

Today many species vulture species face extinction from eating contaminated carcasses. One of the great culprits is the drug Diclofenac used for cattle. However, there are many other culprits like poisoning carcasses to kill predators, use of vulture parts in traditional medicines, malaria and other disease, habitat loss and collision with power lines and other man made barriers. The outlook for some vultures is grim, but now the world is putting their attention to these great birds, and many projects are underway to stabilise the populations of some of the endangered vulture species. And there have been great success stories such as the California Condor.

Please join with Bird Explorers in promoting Vulture Awareness and helping to ensure that all vulture species have a bright and happy future soaring the skies of the world for long to come.

IVAD09 blog festival

Egyptian Vulture, Neophron percnopterus percnopterus, Kargi Waterhole, Chalbi Desert, Kenya

Hooded Vulture,immature, Necrosyrtes monachus, Marsabit National Park, Kenya

Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, Cathartes melambrotus, Sucumbios, Ecuadaor

African White-backed Vulture, Gyps africanus, Bromley, Zimbabwe

Eurasian Griffon, Gyps fulvus fulvescens, Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India

Eurasian Griffon, Gyps fulvus fulvescens, Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India

IVAD09 blog festival

2009-08-10T06:24:00.001-07:00

Support International Vulture Awareness Day, September 05, 2009 by clicking on the link below that tells you how you can help.

IVAD09 blog festival

Birding Delhi, India: Gardens of Bahai Temple and Surrounding Parks

2009-07-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

The grounds of the Baha'i Lotus Temple and surrounding Kalkaji District Park offers a great opportunity for bird photographers to get good photos of common Delhi park birds, such as Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, Brown-headed Barbet, Asian Koel, Alexandrine Parakeet, Hoopoe, Common Babbler Asian Pied Myna, Brahminy Starling, Bank Myna, Indian Robin.

View Delhi Birding: Baha'i Lotus Temple Area in a larger map

The morning and evening lighting conditions are often excellent, and birds are quite confiding as no one pursues them. In winter and during spring and autumn migrations, the ranks of the parks residents is swelled with a variety of warblers and robins coming down from Central Asia, China and Siberia.

Enjoy the photos:

Indian Robin

Hoopoe

Brown-headed Barbet

Black-rumped Flameback

Rufous Treepie

Asian Pied Starling

Green Bee-Eater

Ashy Prinia

Common Babbler

Birding Adventures in Thailand Part 1: Northwestern Gulf of Siam-Petchaburi Coast

2009-04-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

Since moving to Thailand in January 2009, we have already been able to get out and have some great birding, so I thought I would do some diaries about these trips. The first trip was March 7-8 on the Gulf of Siam Coast of Petchaburi Province, a well-known wader overwintering area. Here is a useful google map of the area.

View Petchaburi Coast in a larger map

To get to this area just drive from Bangkok southwest to either Samut Songkram or Petchaburi. From either of the towns, you can approach this area on many local small roads, which themselves are good for rice paddie, canal-side, telephone wire and swamp birding.

Photography is very good throughout the region as the areas are open with good light. Plan to do a mid-morning and early-evening run, as the sun at the height of the day is very strong and oppressive (as is the heat). Likewise if you go too early, you will also have poor light. Stay in your vehicle as much as possible and try to use it as a hide. If you leaves your vehicle, you will certainly scare the birds beyond any useful photographic distance as well as unduly disturbing them.

In these wader sites, you will be driving along the dykes between the salt pans (mostly dirt roads, few paved), so it is best to drive the areas first to get the lay of the land. Then plan your photography work with the sun's angle for the best lighting.

Here are some good photos from the trip.

Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) Occasionally small flocks present at the "other good wader location" or seen flying around the salt flats.

Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), common and most still in non-breeding plumage. Pak Thale is always a good place to photograph these as they are very common here and easy to approach in a vehicle.

Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), also quite common. Some were going into breeding plumage. Marshies are very easy to photograph here throughout the winter.

Common Redshank (Tringa totanus), in small to medium numbers depending on the season. The "Other Good Wader Site" designated on the map is the best place to see and photograph them. Occasionally Spotted Redshank are seen.

Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum), present in small numbers although seen in open fields behind the salt pans salt pans.

Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), always a few around, generally seem singly.

Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva) Usually resent in small numbers.

Salt Flats Landscape

Changing Jobs After 15 Years: Moving from Sydney to Bangkok

2009-02-12T19:48:00.000-08:00

Well, after 15 years I have up and done it. I am changing jobs in midlife at the old age of 47. It was an incredibly scary move on many levels, and also quite sad because I was leaving my colleagues who had become like my family for so many years. But as I know many of you are changing jobs out of want or necessity, I thought I would write about the experience in case it resonates with any other persons out there is these uncertain times of change.

I originally left the USA in 1989 after finishing law school at the U of O in Eugene Oregon (go the mighty Ducks) and winning a Fulbright Scholarship to work with the Ministry of the Environment in Papua New Guinea (PNG). I was then 28. I worked in PNG from 1989-1991, and then went to Tasmania to work with the Australian Green Party who had just for the first time won the balance of control in the Tasmanian Legislature. When in the subsequent election, the Greens lost the balance of power, I went up to Sydney to do post-doc work at Macquarie University.

Crested Bird of Paradise from Mt Hagen PNG

While at Macquarie in April 1994, I got a phone call from an old mate of mine from PNG days who was working as the Program Manager at a development and environment NGO in Sydney called AFAP (the Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and the Pacific). The Executive Director was quite ill and my friend asked me if I could volunteer some of my time. Of course, I tried to wiggle out of it, but then he convinced me to come in a Fridays for a few hours to help out with program work.

Well to cut a long story short the the old Executive Director died in November 1994, and through a series of odd twists and turns, the AFAP Board asked if I would serve as Acting Executive Director for AFAP for a few months. I was a tender 33. I again tried to wiggle out, but then finally relented. Well that turned into a 15 year job. It was a great job. We were working with the poor and dispossessed across Asia, Africa and the Pacific. We had wonderful programs in health, education, environment, agriculture, disaster relief and governance and other sectors.

The ability to be able to work at the coalface and empower wonderful communities around the globe was a great experience. I got to see places that I would have never seen, meet people who I would otherwise never meet who always taught me so much and enriched my life to no end and really got to see the challenges of life through the eyes of others. To see people who struggle on the land everyday to eek out the most meager of livelihoods for them and their families, yet who always held their heads high and always had a smile and a laugh. My life is in every way so much richer because of my experiences with all these great people and their communities.

Working with the Masai in Kenya

It was an exceptional way to spend the so-called "best years of my life"between 33-47. In 1994 was also the time I met my life-partner, Wojciech. We met over the internet planning an expedition to South America on my leave. He was a Polish national doing his MA in Vermont at the time. He came out for a visit to Sydney in 1997, and we have been together ever since. When Canada passed the marriage equality law in 2005, we rushed over with my mother in toe and were duly married on the banks of the St Lawrence just outside of Cornwall, Ontario.

Kevin and Wojciech

So after 15 years at AFAP, the staff and Board were like family for Wojciech and me. It was really a great working experience.

But change always come and all great things must come to an end.

You see the ultimate life passion for Wojciech and me is wildlife and wildlife photography. During our time with AFAP, we would spend all of our leave working with the animals and birds in the national parks where we had our programs as we did lots of bufferzone and livelihood projects in National Parks. For you long-term Kossacks, you may have seen our photos in some of our diaries or on the always fabulous Cheers and Jeers.

Pair of Egyptian Geese from the Jade Sea (Lake Turkana)

In 2005, we registered our own Wildlife Photography NGO, Bird Explorers. We have since supplied thousands of free wildlife and nature photos to museums, libraries, websites, conservation groups and other concerns throughout the developing world.

Green Peacock from Cat Tien National Park, Viet Nam

As our wildlife photography work expanded, we began talking more and more about working with animals and wildlife fulltime either through Bird Explorers or through another animal-focused NGO. Well as Providence would again have it, a new, exciting job prospect came my way in late 2008.

Some of you may have heard of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). They are a major animal welfare group working with wildlife, companion animals, farm animals and animal rescue during disasters. I was offered the position as Southeast Asia Regional Director based in Bangkok. It was a fantastic opportunity but after 15 years with AFAP, would I leave? Could I leave? How could I leave 15 years of work, colleagues, family, friends behind and pull up all the Australian roots and tent stakes bound for Thailand?

Wojciech and I had to think long and hard, and we had endless discussions over the matter, but in the end we finally decided. Thailand and WSPA it was.

WSPA Assists Bos Orangutan Sanctuary, Kalimantan

The process of telling everybody at AFAP was difficult. Our Board Chair figured it out before I was even in a position to tell him. He knows me well as we had worked together since 2000, and he could tell something was up. He was very gracious when I gave him the news, and I will be eternally thankful for that. I was worried that perhaps my decision to leave would anger or disappoint some people. In truth I really did not know what to expect.

But to my everlasting gratitude, everybody at AFAP was really wonderful. The staff gave me a great farewell dinner with all the kids and partners coming. The gave me an original antique Australian bird painting by the Danish ornithologist, Henrik Grønvold. In a way their supportive reaction made me even more sentimental about leaving. It was definitely a very sad and reflective time, but overall good for the soul. I will always love those colleagues at AFAP, and will have a spare room in our flat in Bangkok for what I hope will be frequent visits.

We used the time between to two jobs to go for 4 weeks PNG where my Asia-Pacific life adventure began in 1989 so long ago. We hiked across the high, rugged Bismarck Ranges and climbed PNG's highest peak, Mt Wilhelm. We got to spend time with our PNG Director and his family and staff with whom we have worked all these. If was a great break with no phones and no emails!!!

Lake below Mt Wilhelm

Sooty Honeyeater in Alpine Scrub

Upon returning from PNG in late January, we cleaned out the office where I had sat since 1994 on the Friday night before we left (way too much fossilised stuff in the corners). It was really weird knowing that this was the last time I would be there. That afternoon while waiting for the Thai Visas, I walked down to the Opera House through the Botanical Gardens, saying a bit of a personal, quiet goodbye to Sydney. Although I am sure I will be back to visit, it is hard to say if life's twists and turns will ever bring me back to live there again. It is a great city and a wonderful place to have used as a base camp for so many years.

So we arrived in Bangkok on 30 January, and started work with WSPA on the 2 February. My office is now on the 19th floor of the Olympia Thai Towers with a great view to both the north and west and even with my own executive dunny (seems to be an Asian thing). I must say it is all very nice and much more opulent than I am used to, but in some ways I still miss my little batcave of an office at AFAP. We all had to share one dunny there ;-)

We want to take a few months to look for a nice house with a bit of a garden and maybe a koi pond. I always promised myself a koi pond if I ever lived in Asia. I like the calmining effect. There are a lot of compounds with gardens and traditional Thai-style houses, but it is hard to find ones that are available.

In the meantime, it looks like we will set ourselves in a bit of unaccustomed luxury in a highrise, topfloor, penthouse flat. The penthouse we found is huge, great views in all directions, fully furnished very smartly and get this, $USD 410/ month. That would not buy you a lowly cubicle in Sydney or New York City. I can really get used to these Thai prices. We can get beautiful all you can eat, all-organic Chinese, Thai and Japanese buffets for $5.00. Although the all-you-can-eat Texmex-Cajun buffet in the American Restaurant area downtown will run you $USD 7.50. We are in hog heaven!!

We know Thailand well as we have been doing some projects here and have spent much time in the national parks photographing the nation's amazing wildlife. So Bangkok will give us a great base for exploring the forests of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

Spectacled Langur from Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand

Asian Pied Hornbill from Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand

WSPA works on 4 main programs here, wildlife (bears, orangutans and elephants), companion animals (dogs, cats), farm animals (cows, buffalo, horses, pigs, chickens etc) and animal rescue following natural disasters like Cyclone Nargis last year in Burma. We are so excited about being involved in these programs to hep improve the lot for animals.

Save our Bears!!

You see for both of us, animals have given so much happiness, beauty and joy during our lives. As wildlife photographers we are never ceased to be amazed by the wonder of animals that makes up so much of our lives. So it is important to us to give something back to them. They suffer so much and nowhere worse than in Southeast Asia. So this is our way to give something back for all the great and wonderful meaning they have given to us. And perhaps in the end, this was the motivating factor for giving up my work with AFAP in Sydney after all these years and moving on to WSPA.

So Wojciech and I are stepping out on a new adventure. Wish us luck. God knows we will need it as we struggle to help out all these great animals.

Welcome to our new Bird Explorers Bird Blog

2008-08-20T05:02:00.000-07:00

Bird Explorers is upgrading our Web Site to include a new Bird Explorers Bird Blog. This blog will chronicle our bird and wildlife watching expeditions around the world in our epic quest to photograph all of the nearly 10,000 species of birds.

In this first blog entry, let us outline the history of Bird Explorers Bird Explorers Project. Bird Explorers is a conservation and environmental education project created by my partner, Wojciech, and I to promote birds and wildlife generally through digital photography with a particular focus on endangered species and species in very remote areas. Allow me to start at the beginning.

Critically Endangered Black Stilt, South Island, New Zealand

My interest in birdwatching started when I was very young at the hands of my Great Aunt Avis May Herrick of Mayfield, Fulton Co., New York up in the old Adirondacks where my mother's family had their roots. Aunt May was the sister of my maternal grandfather. Being a most precocious and mischievous kid by nature, I quickly became her favourite, and she imparted to me the many secrets of nature and the birds she loved with all her heart as we traveled across the US and Canada in pursuit of birds of all shapes and sizes. I still have her original list first started in 1910 and almost daily updated. Her list ended with 436 total species. You can find some cool Aunt May Birding Stories on our website.

Largely through the influence of Aunt May and other family members who nurtured my interest in wildlife and science, I grew up determined from a young age to be a wildlife and environmental advocate, and never strayed from this path. I got my degrees in science and environmental law. Throughout my teenage years, I was able to compile a large life list of birds seen.

After I finished my education, I got a Fulbright Scholarship to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to work as a legal and scientific officer for the Ministry of Environment and Conservation. PNG is a veritable paradise of exquisite birdlife, and through the Ministry I was able to access many remote, largely undisturbed areas. Spending two years in PNG was a wondrous adventure in nearly every way anyone can imagine. After PNG, I ended up in Australia where, since 1994 I have been running an overseas and environmental agency, AFAP, working in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. In 1994 I also met my soul mate and life partner Wojciech who likewise loved nature and wildlife.

Throughout much of this time, both Wojciech and I had a good general interest in photography, but concentrated mostly on landscapes as the technology for bird photography was very large and unwieldy, and the whole process very expensive especially considering the cost of film.

However in the early 2000s, a few technical changes occurred to make bird photography far more technically easy and much more affordable. This of course involved the digital photography revolution combined with the invention of modern image stabilisers. CANON first invented the optical image stablisers, and as a result when Wojciech and I first decided to invest in the technology in 2003, we bought a standard CANON outfit. Our first setup was a Canon EOS 10D Digital SLR Camera body with a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens.

Our first trip was to New Caledonia the day after we bought the camera in search of the rare and endangered Kagu. As my Aunt May always said, Natures fortunes smile on those who protect Nature, and to our luck in the depths of the deep, darkling New Caledonian rainforest, we encountered what must have been the world's most cooperative Kagu.

These Kagu pictures quickly made their way around the internet and were all the rage for some time, still featured to this day on the main website of the Société Calédonienne d'Ornithologie
and also on ARKive.

This initial trip yielded some other cool birds that are rarely photographed.

That first trip turned out so well and was so much fun that Wojciech and I vowed we were never going to stop until we had photographed every bird in the world in an effort to promote the beauty and conservation of these wondrous creatures. Four years, seven continents and many great adventures later we are now closing in on the 25% mark of the 9,700+ bird species out there. Not only that, but our pictures are selling enough to make a modest little income to support our activities, although we always give the free use of our photos to all wildlife charities and conservation efforts.

Our huge Australian photo collection of over 500 species makes up about 70% of the Australian Museum's current photo collection for their bird website.

Pictorella Mannikin, Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia

Splendid Fairy Wren, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

Painted Finch, Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia

Zebra Finch, Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia

Rainbow Lorikeet, Murramurang National Park, NSW, Australia

Our 2005 expedition to the Kenya, Ethiopia border country is now featured in the current edition of the Africa Bird Club Bulletin. This was a great trip deep into the heart of bandit country to find the very rare Masked Lark.

Masked Lark, Dida Galgalu Desert, Kenya

Kori Bustard, Dida Galgalu Desert, Kenya

Red-cheeked Cordon-bleue, Karen Blixen's Estate, Kenya

Also our Spinifex Pigeon has just made the front cover of School Magazine, the monthly reader for primary students. This is great as it promotes bird photography and conservation to a very young audience.

Anyway, that is a bit of a pictorial overview of Bird Explorers. We have now upgraded to the Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR Camera body and Canon EOS 30D Digital SLR Camera body but continue to use the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens as our main zoom lens due to its versatility. It is definitely a joint activity so it is good to have your soul mate in place before you embark on such adventures. It is not the safest work, but so far we have both emerged with just minor bumps and bruises to show for the ware, although we have had some harrowing adventures at the hands of the weather, local bandits, bad jeeps, very steep terrain and local big game. The preferred sport among most elephants is "Chase the Birdwatchers";-)

If you have any question about Bird Photography let me know, and I can try to answer them.

Getting back to my Great Aunt May. Although her body now rests beneath the glacial soil of the southern Adirondacks, I know her spirit is always there with us in the rainforests, deserts, mountains and valleys. Everytime I see a new bird and think of my Aunt May, I am sure that somewhere it opens a window for her to see it as well. So all you aunties and grannies, who have young, uncontrollable whippersnappers, if you just plant the right seeds in their soul, the resultant tree may just be amazing.

When Wojciech and I sit back in our rockers when we are old and grey, we will be comforted in all the great adventures and memories that we have had together, and the knowledge that long after we return to dust, our photos will continue to bring the beauty of birdlife and nature to generations who will come after, and may be the only shots of some species before they too disappear forever.

Orange-breasted Myzomela, Suva Vite Levu, Fiji

Green Peacock, Cat Tien National Park, Viet Nam

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Dida Galgalu Desert Kenya

Masked Trogon, Western Andean Slopes, Ecuador

Madagascar Fody, Port Louis, Mauritius