Laura Erickson's For The Birds

How do birds fare during frigid weather?

General facts about albatrosses and good news about a very special one.

Laura remembers three Thanksgivings of the past, and how a Pileated Woodpecker keeps those memories alive.

Every environmental organization down in the Gulf during the BP oil disaster had to abide by a 5-year moratorium on ALL of their eye-witness information except as BP allowed. National Audubon did way more than honor BP's rules--they publicly parroted all of BP's false claims minimizing how bad the disaster was.

At the time of the BP oil spill, Laura thought some important organizations were complying with BP more than they should have. Now, as she explains, she realizes that most of them weren't cowardly.

Who can we trust after a major disaster?

Laura visited one of the four rehab centers allowed to treat birds oiled in the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Laura talks about the extremely low-tech and ineffective way BP tried to protect beaches and islands after the spill, and the even worse way they approached cleanup. There are many photos and a video on the accompanying blog post at (https://lauraerickson.substack.com/p/getting-away-with-murder-part-2)

As Laura faces her 73rd birthday in what feels like a hopeless time, she looks to chickadees. (This program was reworked from the "For the Birds" program from October 12, 2010.)

The BP oil spill was when Laura learned just how much power a corporation has over individuals; well-meaning and well-respected organizations and institutions; and our government.

Billionaires and corporations have too much power over us, birds, and the environment we need and share.

Birding may keep us young, but not literally.

Clean energy should be making us less, not more, reliant on huge transmission lines.

Power transmission lines can be very harmful for birds and human beings.

Laura recently returned from the American Ornithological Society's annual meeting. Some things have changed, and some remain the same.

Laura's has attended a few professional ornithological meetings through the years.

Blue Jays help protect each other from Sharp-shinned Hawks.

More cases of errors and mistaken identity, and one case of vindication

When Laura makes a mistake, she appreciates people who let her know about it, but notes that there are good ways and bad ways of doing so.

Laura talked to Lillian Stokes and Matt Young about their decision to include the finches of Hawaii (called the Hawaiian Honeycreepers) in their new book.