• A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington: Senator George P. McLean, Birdman of the Senate

    13 days ago - By 10,000 Birds

    The Great Egret was in breeding plumage and courtship posture-bright lime green lores, head bending down and then snapping up, long, impossibly delicate plumes waving over its body as if possessed by independent spirits. The visitors along the boardwalk at Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Florida were taking photos nonstop, we only had a few minutes before the wetlands closed, oohing and aaahing. I thought about those plumes and about how fortunate we were to be seeing this egret in all its glory. Plume hunting raged supreme 150 years ago, when egret feathers were part of a worldwide trade in...
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