Earthday is a day for action and reflection. Some reflection follows:

I read two wonderful books about birds this past year by Bernd Heinrich, professor emeritus of biology at the University of Vermont. The first was the Snoring Bird: My Family’s Journey Through A Century of Biology. It’s a wonderful story of his father’s life which begins in pre-World War I Germany. His father becomes a devoted and famous naturalist, and and lives a life through two world wars in Europe, and comes to Maine where is son, Bernd, becomes an avid biologist at UVM. It’s a wonderful story.

The second book I read was Heinrich’s Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival. Although not entirely about birds, there is amble space devoted to these marvelous and amazing animals, who like their counterparts in nature, have “evolved innovations” to help them survive winter. It’s another marvelous and wonderfully written book.

Our backyard feeders attract a wide variety of birds.
During the past year, my wife and I set up bird feeders in our backyard which boarders a protected wetlands area. I was surely motivated to do this after reading Heinhrich’s books, but also by simply being so close to a nature preserve. Our bird feeds have not only brought many species of birds, especially lots of cardinals, but rabbits (all of whom are named “Bob,”) as well as squirrels, deer, and opossum.

One of hundreds of cardinals that visit us.

As you reflect on Earthday 2008, you might watch this video showing how one person decided to participate in Earthday.