American Coot

American Coot
Oakland, California, USA
Member of the Coots and Rails Family
§A Covert of Coots§

~true bird fact~ Coots are common enough all over the country that scientists use their population to measure the impact of the myriad environmental fiascoes we visit upon ourselves. Thanks Coot!

Name has been misappropriated to mean 'crazy person', but this bird only speaks the truth
Believes in prophetic dreams
Has a strong shared cultural memory and knows what his land used to be like a long time ago
Says a lot with his silence

White-tailed Kite

White-tailed Kite
Vine Hill, California, USA
Member of the Kites, Eagles, and Hawks Family
§A Kettle of Kites§

*true kite fact* The children's toy, kite, is named for these birds. Maybe this is obvious, but I had a bit of an 'ah-ha' moment here.

*true White-tailed Kite fact* Despite scientists' best efforts, they are unable to determine whether White-tailed Kites are migratory or nomadic birds or what. Basically they don't know a thing! Nature is a wonderful mystery.


Has relationships and friendships that are intense, but brief
Capricious, tends to move around a lot
Gets into tortured, artistic moods about things that don't effect her personally, like Tibet
Baffling. You will often not want to deal with her if you've already had a hard day. A lot to deal with that you don't need right now, frankly.
May be kind of like a trial by fire, in bird form

Where Are They Now? issue 1

Nostalgia. We all experience it. Sometimes you look back on your favorite post here on bird blog dot com just to reminisce. What was your life like when you first read about Loon, for example? Were you younger and more beautiful? What is Yellow Footed Gull doing with his life now? I bet he has kids already. Wow, time really flies. Today's update and new recurring feature is all about nostalgia. We'll be checking in on all of our favorite Birds of The Past and finding out what is going on with them now. So put on your rose-colored glasses and pull up a rocking chair. It's time to look back.

American Crow has found transcendental meditation and is taking steps to actualize her own life. She is preparing to run for local office.

Black-crowned Night-Heron is going through a dark time right now. After some small-time drama, he is finding himself without many friends and not accepted in his old circles. He is leading a very sedentary life at the moment, but has been doing a lot of thinking. Maybe he will come out of this a better bird.

Osprey got tired of being a big fish in a small pond. He disappeared one day on his motorcycle, leaving all of his other worldly posessions behind. Obviously kind of a local legend now, people say that he may have moved to Mexico or California.

California Quail is pursuing creative outlets. He has started writing a blog about 'Quail Fails' which is attracting a modest following. The internet is a great place to make friends for California Quail, and he is feeling very validated.

MYSTERY BIRD: Diving Water Bird

BIRD THAT SWIMS WELL
Morro Bay, California, USA
Best Guess: Pelagic Cormorant (injured?)
See this strange bird in motion by clicking here!

Beloved by many
Always orders appetizers for his friends

Doesn't have much motivation, but no one can be mad at him for long, even when he flakes out on you. An extremely relaxed character
Humorous and strange things happen to him a lot, as a result has many interesting stories