Yesterday, on Groundhog’s Day, a rodent named Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania, where temperatures hovered around 22 degrees, and did not see his shadow, suggesting, according to local legend, that an early spring is forthcoming. In New York, Staten Island Chuck concurred. In Georgia, General Beau Lee, too. And…
Author: Kim Steutermann Rogers
Kim Steutermann Rogers lives with her husband and dog on the island of Kauai. She's a longtime freelance science journalist and author covering Hawaii's natural history and, periodically, Mark Twain. In between assignments, she writes fiction and nonfiction. She maintains a website at http://www.kimsrogers.com. You can find her on social media @kimsrogers.
I Stand with Wooden-Spoon-Toting Grannies and 79-Year-Old Wrestling Grandfathers
I keep reading about the takeover at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge as if it were an article in the satirical magazine known as The Onion.
Hawaiian Petrels: Refugees of the Sea
Hawaiian petrels aren’t the largest seabirds in the ocean. They’re no albatross. But with a three-foot wingspan, they can still cover some ground–er, water. According to the Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project, an adult bird will fly over 6,000 miles in a single foraging trip to provide a meal for its chick. I’d say that’s impressive. I mean, I…
What Is An Albatross?[1]
al ba tross \ ‘albetros\ n : any of a number of large web-footed seabirds that are related to the petrels, that form a family (Diomedeidae) of the order Procellariiformes, and that include the largest of seabirds, being capable of long-continued flight and often appearing at great distances from land chiefly over…
The Art of Taking Off.
Today was the annual Christmas Bird Count in Hawaii. I’ve participated in a few of these over the years but never in Hanalei Valley where I was stationed today. As you may know, the event is hosted by the Audubon Society, getting its start in 1900 during the early days of the conservation movement. Because…
Mark Twain: My Albatross.
The oldest known, living wild bird in the world is a Laysan albatross, at 64 years of age. She showed up recently at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, just in time for the breeding season. There are more photos here, if your voyeuristic nature is piqued, of what happens when she and her mate see each…
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