Birding with Kenn and Kimberly

From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kenn writes: Two days from now, tens of millions of people will be storming the stores and decking the malls for the annual shopping explosion of Black Friday.  Perhaps you'll be among them, and if so, we wish you the best of success.  Perhaps, like us, you'll stay far away from stores on Friday, and take part in Shop Local Saturday at small businesses the next day. But if you're gearing up to shop for holiday gifts, I'd like to make a couple of modest suggestions.   Of course, buying gifts is already challenging enough. It can be tough to find just the right item for that special person. But buying a gift is an act that can have an impact in both directions: not only for the person receiving it, but back along the line for everyone involved in selling and producing that gift. So with some careful thought, not only can we thrill the recipient, we can also make a positive difference in the world in other ways. We can give a gift that will, in ef...

Kirtland's Warbler: North America's rarest songbird species. The only known consistent stopover area  for this bird during its migration is in northwestern Ohio - the area now being threatened by wind power development. From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kenn writes:  Our book tour of New England was wonderful, but it was cut short by the approach of Superstorm Sandy.  We had to cancel our last appearances on October 29 and 30, and since all flights were cancelled as well, we drove our rental car back to Ohio through the rain and high winds, arriving safely at home on the 30th.  Once there, however, we were dealing with an ill wind of another kind.  As many of you will know already, Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) has been leading an attempt to stop construction of a large wind turbine at the Camp Perry Air National Guard Station, on the Lake Erie shore in the heart of Ohio's premier bird migration hotspot of Magee Marsh / Crane Creek / Ottawa NWR. This is t...