Green

Want to be more innovative? Go play via @idealist

'Winter' - maybe even snow - to return for Memorial Day weekend #green

This wallet helps you pay attention to your friends, not your phone

California plastic ocean debris bill dies in committee #green

Lori and I spent the day up north seeking out a few birds that I need for the Big Year contest. We drove up to Milford PA last night and spent the night at the Myer Motel cabin. Milford PA is just across the river from New Jersey and just across the state line from New York. It's up there. It's a cute little town which I highly recommend for a weekend. We didn't stay long - arrived at 9::30 PM and left at 4:45 AM.We started the day at Old Mine Road on the Jersey side of the Delaware Water Gap. This road is "legendary" for birding in NJ. It runs about 20 miles along the river through state and and national park which is really terrific. We started at the southern end and drove very slowly with the windows rolled down listening for warblers. Our target bird was Cerulean Warbler which is pretty rare and only found in woods along rivers. I need this bird for the stupid contest and Lori has never seen one which means that it would be a "Life Bird" for her.We stopped along the road every few hundred yards and listened for the call. We heard all types of birds including Wood Thrushes and Veeries, and many types of warblers including Louisiana Waterthrush and Redstarts, but no Cerulean. I heard a really weird song while driving slowly along the road which we stopped to investigate. Being the awesome birder that I am - I couldn't figure out the song and finally saw the bird which I chalked up to a Blackpoll warbler. Then Lori said "Um . . . Lin . . . this bird is blue. Blackpolls aren't blue are they?" Of course not. Blackpolls are BLACK - hence the name. Ceruleans are blue - hence the name. Bingo, we got the bird. Here is a terrible photo. I also have a video which does not show the bird since I can't figure out how to aim the camera while taking video. Cerulean Warbler - singingYou can't really see the beautiful color of this bird in the photo. That's because of the weather which time traveled from late October or November - cold (45 degrees), drizzly and foggy. The fog only got better after the 25 mile per hour winds kicked up around noon. Good grief. I can't catch a break this year. It's May 24th for christsake and I'm wearing a winter coat. But I am looking at a Cerulean warbler which makes everything a little betterWe saw a ton of birds including some other Life Birds for Lori. I'll post the rest of the day later.

While this male Blackpoll Warbler, another rarity in Colorado, was not nearly as accommodating as the Magnolia Warbler, I did a couple of good shots. Though not brightly colored it is still stunning in it's crisp black and white breeding plumage. This was in the same area of southeastern Colorado (Van's Grove) as the Magnolia. SeEtta

7 places where you can get a free online education via @Home_Clever

The flycatchers are usually the last spring migrants to return. And today my out-of-town birders and I found five species. Not a one was the resident Black Phoebe. This is the Western Wood-Pewee at Ashland Pond. The larger Olive-sided Flycatcher was in a treetop there as well. Over at North Mountain were a Willow and an Ash-thraoted Flcyatcher. Tghe latter croaked a few time, loudly, tehn flew off. Kingbirds were to be seen in several places. BRIGHT BIRDS Blaxk-heaxded Grosbeak. Bullock’s Oriole male. Lazuli Bunting male. Little Creek Ranch, Siskiyou Blvd., Jackson, US-OR May 23, 2013 7:25 AM. 21 species Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 6 California Quail (Callipepla californica) 2 Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 1 Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) 1 Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) 2 Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 2 Common Raven (Corvus corax) 1 Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 12 Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 2 White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1 nesting House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) 1 American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 4 European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 2 Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 60 Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) 1 Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 6 Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) 2 Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii) 2 Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) 1 House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 4 Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) 8 North Mountain Park, Jackson, US-OR May 23, 2013 9:00 AM. 28 species Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 8 Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 1 Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 1 Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 2 Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna) 1 Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) 1 Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) 1 Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) 1 Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 2 American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 2 Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) 1 Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 10 Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 2 Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) 1 White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 2 nesting American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 4 European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 6 Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 20 Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) 2 Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) 1 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 3 Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) 1 Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) 2, Lazuli Bunting 1 Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 6 Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) 4 Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 2 House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 2 Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) 12 Ashland Pond, Jackson, US-OR May 23, 2013 11:15am. 20 species Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 8 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 10 Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 1 Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 1. Vaux’s Swift 10 Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) 2 Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) 1 Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus) 1 Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 2 American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 2 Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 12 Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) 1 European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 4 Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 1 Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 1 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 4 Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) 1 Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 4 Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii) 1 Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) 4

As Saudi Arabia has a mostly desert environment it is often difficult to persuade people that wildlife can be abundant at certain times in the region. One such even that occurs annually is the migration of Painted Lady butterflies which is one of no less than 130 species of butterfly that occur in the Arabian region. The majority of these butterflies live in the mountainous regions of south-west Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman, but even the desert regions have their permanent and semi-permanent residents. The Painted Lady belongs to a group of butterflies which have not specialized, yet also survive. They are a migrant species and their survival strategy is based on mobility and the endless search for conditions where they can breed. The Painted Lady is the world's most cosmopolitan butterfly and when it has a successful breeding season; individual butterflies can fly in any direction with some travelling thousands of kilometres. Thus if some habitat in Arabia is suddenly blessed with an abundance of rain, some Painted Lady will almost certainly find it, breed and lay their eggs. Their progeny will then almost certainly leave the area, so if the area is not suitable for breeding again for many years, it won't matter; the progeny will have found still other places to breed. Obviously many butterflies die in such a process as this nomadic life is harsh, but the species will survive. The Painted Lady and other migrant butterflies are less specialized in their choice of food plant and habitat than most of the sedentary species. This is because they can't be as fussy to survive and as a result can live in harsher environments. If winter rains have been good and flora has flourished the number of Painted Lady recorded increases significantly.

Memorial Day weekend gas tab likely to hit $1.44 billion in US #green