An Introduction
I have spent the past 15 years working as a wildlife biologist. I have worked with herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians), birds, small mammals, bats, and even a tiny bit in rare plants. Conservation is my passion and nature is my muse. Even though this has been my career focus, my favorite past time is still to go and see new species that I have yet to see.
On January 15, 2013, a common crane was reported on ebird in Overton, NV. Thus, hatched the plan for my favorite sick day of all time. Common cranes are long-distance migrators that breed in Siberia. Uncommonly found in Russia, and that is the most likely place for one to have found its way into a sandhill crane flock. Not exactly an expected sighting. As the bird flies, the tips of Russia and Alaska are pretty close. Not visible, but close. Sandhill cranes in the North America spend their summers in Canada and Alaska and then migrate south to the southern contiguous United States for the winter. So, back to that sick day. Living in Las Vegas at the time it was only a one hour drive to get up to the Overton Wildlife Management Area. We both called in sick on January 29th and spent the day finding that bird. I, unfortunately, did not have a great camera or telephoto lens at that time, so photos were not great, just enough to tell cranes and swans hanging out in a field. That does not diminish the fact that I still look fondly back on that day some 10 years later. Here is a link to more information on that particular bird at the American Birding Association website: https://blog.aba.org/2013/01/abarare-common-crane-nevada.html
I tend to spend my vacations finding what species and local favorite restaurants I can, walking upwards of 10 miles a day to absorb all that I can of new locations. Atlantic puffins in Maine, Antillean manatees in Belize, Amargosa toads in Beatty, Nevada, the list goes on. So, if you want to follow along, make plans for your next vacation, or just look at pretty pictures, that is what the majority of this site is going to be about.
I also live in the Ozark Mountains of NW Arkansas. This area of the Natural State is dominated by trails both for bikes and hiking, forests, and art. I am also an artist specializing in pottery, photography, and charcoal. Which is often inspired by my trips out of doors. I have a small garden that I am obsessed with, and horticulture is quickly becoming my third passion. Look out for posts on all of those subjects too. I’ll try and keep things organized for you so you can find what you want.
Happy trails, and if you ever want to know something more specific on one of my posts, reach out, comment, whatever! I’d love to help.
Sandhill cranes, a common crane, and swans (I think they were trumpeter and tundra but I’ve lost my list from that day) hang out in a field at the Overton Wildlife Management Area.
