FLIGHT LINES

Flight Lines: Night stalker among the natural beauties

It began with a fellow named Joe who wondered, along with some of his neighbors in Petersburg, N. D., whether the owls they were seeing every night in town were something special.

By Keith Corliss , September 01, 2010

Flight Lines: In pursuit of passion, the chase isn’t always easy

If Macklin Smith made the pilgrimage to the Black Hills of South Dakota you know it’s something special. Really special.

By Keith Corliss , August 18, 2010

Flight Lines: Tree swallows are a nice second choice

Matt is a friend who lives on a nearby rural farmstead. He’s not a farmer, mind you, but he and his wife prefer the quieter atmosphere of country living. It also allows her to keep her horses at home instead of boarding them somewhere else.

By Keith Corliss , August 04, 2010

Flight Lines: By nature or man, a wing must produce lift

You’d think by now this whole flying thing would be figured out. It’s not. Credit to the first great thinkers to ponder the possibility of manned flight goes to the venerable names we all learned, the Aristotles, the Galileos, the da Vincis, and others. That’s only because they preserved their thoughts with written words and drawings. I’m confident the first humans to walk the earth also wondered and wished. With creatures all around them plying the air with moving wings, how could they not? Insects and bats were doing it. And birds, those magical feathered beasts, were doing it too.

By Keith Corliss , July 21, 2010

Flight Lines: Mankind an important part of global system

For years, people of the world, especially Americans, have been ripe targets for certain folks promulgating what I consider an anti-human message; one that constantly reminds us just how evil and destructive we are to the environment.

By Keith Corliss , June 23, 2010

Mystery of bird migration part of the charm

There is much yet to know about bird migration. Oh sure, we’ve come a long way since the days of faulty beliefs such as swallows hibernating underground or hummingbirds riding upon the backs of flying geese. Still, many questions of how, why, when and where remain largely unanswered.

By Keith Corliss , June 09, 2010

Flight Lines: Real nature often harsh, not always happily-ever-after

Early one morning last week I walked up the steps of a neighbor’s house. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement. A moment later there was an explosion of sorts.

By Keith Corliss , May 26, 2010

One animal credited with opening the West

As a species, humans are far-and-away the most capable organisms with reference to the ability to modify the environment. After us, the impact of other organisms falls off pretty fast.

By Keith Corliss , May 12, 2010

Flight Lines: Wildlife spectacle of prairie chickens just a quick phone call away

Right off the top of my head, I can think of five avian species that have become extinct north of Mexico since Europeans first stepped ashore in the New World.

By Keith Corliss , April 28, 2010

Flight Lines: Careful observation only way to limit identification mistakes

Several years ago, I was made aware of just how bound some photographers are to certain light conditions.

By Keith Corliss , April 14, 2010

Flight Lines: Waterfowl migration hard to miss throughout the region

It started about 10 days ago with a phone call from a friend who found himself just south of West Fargo. In a rather excited tone he related how he had just seen a huge flock of snow geese moving north; a flock he estimated at roughly 50,000 birds.

By Keith Corliss , March 31, 2010

Flight Lines: Mealworms add dimension when feeding birds

I’ll likely never see bluebirds in my yard. The best I can hope for is a lucky fleeting glimpse of a flyover during migration, but the birds will not stop at the feeders I put out.

By Keith Corliss , March 17, 2010

Flight Lines: Birdlife noticeably absent this winter

Take a look around the state at recent bird reports and a person can’t help but arrive at a somewhat ho-hum conclusion: There really isn’t much out there.

By Keith Corliss , March 03, 2010

Sheyenne National Grasslands: An interview with the guy in charge

One of the least appreciated and perhaps underutilized destinations in our area is the Sheyenne National Grasslands.

By Keith Corliss , February 17, 2010

Flight lines: Falling short of county bird challenge

It had been accomplished twice in the past, once in 2005 in Burleigh County, and again in 2007 in McHenry County. But no one that we know of had done it in Cass.

By Keith Corliss , February 03, 2010