Tag - wild-watch

 
 

WILD WATCH

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 7, 2003
Golden 'weeds' of wondrous ways
It was a breezy day at Cape Notoro overlooking the Sea of Okhotsk on Hokkaido's north coast. The sun was glinting on the waves below the cliffs and a skylark singing somewhere above was producing a cascade of summer sound.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 31, 2003
Busy by astonishing design
Earlier this year, I watched a number of bumblebees droning back and forth over the ground cover in mountain forest near my home in Hokkaido. They were seemingly oblivious to me. Occasionally one would land, and disappear beneath the leaf litter, or go down a mouse hole or into a crevice, only to emerge...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 17, 2003
Humble marvels of nature
The mechanics of flight are beyond me, and I especially can't imagine how bumblebees can become airborne. Images of a jumbo jet taking off without a runway spring to mind.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 3, 2003
What a week that was
It was a week filled with surprises and excitement.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jun 19, 2003
A world rich in avian resources
From time immemorial, wild birds have been important food sources for rural populations.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jun 5, 2003
Winged wonders of nature -- and more
We humans share the world with perhaps as many as 100,000,000 species, yet among the most conspicuous and best-loved of all these are the mere 10,000 species of birds.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 29, 2003
Targeting nature on a Texas shootout
Texas summons up images of cowboys and longhorn cattle, Western boots and horses, Stetsons, vast ranches, oil and gas -- and that Texan drawl.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 15, 2003
Big-mouth bulbuls time it just right
Second of two parts Imagine, if you can, an opinion poll of Japanese forest plants. Question: which bird is most important to you? The brown-eared bulbul, or hiyodori, would have to take a bow.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 1, 2003
Feathered friends of the forest
In a passive way, plants have got birds sussed. They use them, abuse them (ever seen a thrush drunk on fermenting apples?) and mess with their digestive systems. Birds are willing pawns, though; brightly colored flowers and gaudy berries send a simple signal to the bird brain that shouts -- energy!
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 17, 2003
A natural sense of belonging
I pass through the Heidelberg area of Baden-Buerttemberg in southwest Germany several times a year, and though I am transient there, I feel that I have roots -- roots that come from a natural connectedness with the earth. The several thousand hectares of land sandwiched between the gently rising hills...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 3, 2003
Mistletoe magic
I am back in my local wood in Hokkaido yet again. From one spot, I can see the fluffed-out form of a Ural owl sunning itself at the entrance of its day roost, while looking in another direction and a little higher in the canopy of a towering elm, I find more than half a dozen spherical clumps, like strange...
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Mar 20, 2003
If you go down to the woods . . .
As I enter the wood, I cast a glance to the arching canopy above, my ears ever alert for the sounds of the season. I have observed this wood through the turning of the years, and as I step inside between the towering trees once more, I recall seasons past.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Mar 6, 2003
Fun guys can always find long-lasting allies
A coworker of mine in the Galapagos takes great delight in corny cracks and groan-inducing jokes, but as learning aids they are indeed memorable. Take his way of teaching the partnership involved in the lichen lifestyle and where they live. With apologies to Ron Sjostedt (and whoever he gleaned it from)...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Feb 20, 2003
How to label all life, and lichen?
I am an inveterate binocular user, rarely going anywhere without a pair. They are useful not merely for enjoying scenery, and birds and mammals in their natural settings, but also for the odd peregrine falcon perched incongruously atop an urban high-rise, or for admiring architectural detail in close-up...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Feb 6, 2003
Delving deeper into the snows
At the end of my column last week, there I was on the Antarctic Peninsula pondering the pink hue of "watermelon snow" and wondering where had I heard about colored snow before.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 30, 2003
Cold facts and urban myths
First of two parts Depending on where you live in Japan, you may only have experienced a brief flurry of snow this winter. Perhaps if you live in southwestern Honshu or Kyushu, you won't have seen any at all, except on the TV weather maps. Conversely, though, if you live on the Sea of Japan coast, or...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 16, 2003
Shame in a 'showcase'
Second of two parts I ended my last story by saying, "If it is wolves, or winter wilderness, you want to see, don't waste time wondering -- get to Yellowstone! But please, when you're there, don't rent a two-stroke snowmobile! I'll explain why in my next column."
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 3, 2003
Vast visions made real
First of two parts These days the United States may not be pulling its weight and taking any kind of responsible lead vis-a-vis climate change and the Kyoto Protocol. In the past, however, there have been undeniable -- if occasional -- grand American visions or strokes of inspired leadership. One such...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Dec 19, 2002
Surviving the season of cold
Plodding -- that's the only way to describe them. Deep snow blankets the winter landscape of the bison in Yellowstone National Park and plod they must through both the winter and the landscape. These mighty beasts don't waste a calorie of energy if they can avoid it.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Dec 5, 2002
Vital links in a flyway chain
Amazingly, we continue to take fresh water for granted. This precious resource is vital for our survival and that of a vast array of other species, from microscopic creatures and aquatic insects, to fish and hordes of birds. In Lake Baikal in Siberia, at 1,737 meters the deepest lake in the world, there...

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