Why is bird poop white?

With the joy of birding comes the fear of getting dropped on. Recently, my seven-year-old daughter carefully watched a pair of Canada geese sitting on an old ponderosa pine snag. She was looking for an owl’s nest below, turned to me and wondered: “Why is bird poop white?”

Wanting to make this a memorable homeschool experience during our pandemic times, I found fascinating answers and unearthed a recent, surprising revolution in the world of bird poop research. Read more

Field Note for the Montana Natural History Center, Broadcast 3.9 & 3.12.2021

“Smoke Elser is a legend not only in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana but throughout the Rocky Mountain West. . . . Hush of the Land will be read for years by those who want a saddle-high view of a unique and adventurous life well lived.”

—C. J. Box, New York Times best-selling author of Storm Watch

Based on hundreds of hours of interviews, HUSH OF THE LAND tells the captivating story of Smoke Elser’s early days as a packer in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Bitterroot Mountains. Share the joys and thrills of summer rides, harrowing grizzly bear encounters, fishing in clear mountain streams, and many nights around a campfire within some of the West’s last wild lands. In this lively narrative, Elser recounts how his testimony for the Wilderness Act, and the fight to preserve and expand Montana’s wilderness lands, influenced his career as an outfitter and educator and gave him a voice at the center of Montana’s conservation movement. Read more.

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