Laura Erickson's For The Birds

Laura used to be more wowed by the beauty of golf courses than by real wilderness.

What looks beautiful and natural to untrained eyes can have a very dark side.

Fishing line is still a clear and present danger for birds.

In George Clooney's 2025 movie, *Jay Kelly*, his movie star character says, reviewing his life, "All my memories are movies." It turns out just about all Laura's memories are birds.

I don't know if Alexander the Great paid attention to ducks, but three cool diving ducks share their name with his horse.

Laura went out with her husband Russ to search for owls Sunday. Their sightings were limited to a couple of owl decoys, but they still saw some cool birds, and Laura remembers a lifetime of owls she has seen with Russ.

Hummingbirds have a fascinating fossil record.

An overview of the hummingbird family

Laura reminisces about the second tropical bird she ever saw.

Laura talks about the orangest members of the exotic cotinga family.

We Minnesotans are banding together in an inclusive, cohesive, peaceful rebel alliance, just like chickadees.

Laura is honoring today's “Get ICE Out of Minnesota” “Day of Truth and Freedom.”

Last month, Laura got to feast her eyes on her "Most Wanted Bird" in the world--an Andean Condor.

Today Laura celebrates the California Condor.

What does it mean when your first bird of the year is a pigeon?

One of Laura's listeners and readers, Linda Peplinski, gave Laura a lovely reminder of Thomas Hardy's poem *The Darkling Thrush.*

Five percent of Laura's joy in a trip comes during the planning stages; 45 percent comes during the actual trip; and a full 50 percent comes in the days, weeks, and years after the trip is over.

Laura's back from a wonderful trip.

Laura's daughter, turning 42 years old on December 10, is facing a hard ordeal.

On December 8, Laura plans to go to sleep on the far side of the Equator.