FLIGHT LINES
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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.
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.
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.
February 03, 2010
Critter bits: Odds and ends from the wild side
Four years ago, I wrote of a bird that seemed destined to colonize our fair area after having been found in Kindred, a first for Cass County. Well, it’s happened. Nearly every burg a person ventures into these days gives up a Eurasian collared-dove (Streptopelia decaocto) or two.
January 20, 2010
Short-eared owl: The “other” prairie owl
There’s an owl species fairly common to our area with an extreme partiality toward openness, the short-eared owl (Asio flammeus). And like its much larger relative it can be readily seen hunting during daylight hours.
By Keith Corliss , January 06, 2010
Plan now for wildlife-centric landscaping
About noon this past Monday a magical event occurred. It went largely unnoticed and uncelebrated by most, but it had a hemisphere-wide impact on us in the North. At 1747 (GMT) the sun reached its most southerly declination, an annual happening known as the winter solstice.
By Keith Corliss , December 23, 2009
Lull in season no reason to stay indoors
It may have happened to me before but I can’t recall. Certainly it’s rarely experienced even during this season. But happen it did.
By Keith Corliss , December 09, 2009
Turning heads while seeking owls normal reaction
I’ve grown used to the funny looks; the subtle little side glances as they pass by on bicycle or on foot, often walking a dog. Or maybe it’s the delayed turnaround after putting enough distance between us, just to make sure they aren’t being followed by the strange guy with the binoculars. From the homebound, it’s the furtive peek around the curtain. It’s the rare person – often a young child – whose curiosity can’t keep them from asking that which is begging to be asked, “Are you a bird watcher?”
By Keith Corliss , November 25, 2009
Abundant redheads easy to identify once out of eclipse stage
Redheads are divers and nest commonly here in the prairie pothole region of the country. The birds currently are on their way to wintering areas to our south. Along the Gulf of Mexico, redheads can be found in groups of hundreds of thousands. It’s thought roughly half of our North Dakota redheads end up in the Laguna Madre area of Texas.
By Keith Corliss , November 12, 2009
Legends about birds much more fun than fact
The annual Halloween season has a way of letting the weird, the unexplained, and the downright scary rule for a time. Both my kids have seen the latest spooky movie – “Paranormal Activity.” Our culture has a way of cultivating a certain uneasiness this time of year, at least the retailers do. I think it has something to do with sales. Being freaked out, it seems, is worth paying for.
By Keith Corliss , October 29, 2009
A bluebird of another stripe shows up in Cass County
There is a basic and centuries old principle familiar to anyone who has taken a class in economics; something called the law of diminishing returns. Simply stated, it says as one factor of production is increased while others are kept constant, a point will eventually be reached when output per unit of input begins to decrease.
By Keith Corliss , October 15, 2009
Bias difficult trait to overcome in approach to outdoors
A PowerPoint presentation I put together some months ago deals with the theory behind finding rare birds. One area I touch on is the bias that creeps into how we approach the outdoors generally and bird watching specifically.
By Keith Corliss , October 01, 2009
Streams of raptors are possible in fall; Identifying hawks on the wing a challenge
Sometimes they come in bunches, often they are singles. Some are neatly packaged in a tight, folded tuck piercing the air like a missile while others are in full sail displaying to the world beneath their every feature. Some fan the air with their wings rather lazily, others frantically. Pete Dunne calls these migrating birds “wind masters.” Most folks refer to them simply as hawks.
By Keith Corliss , September 17, 2009
Memories of college class still relevant
The passing years tend to dull memories somewhat. This is no less true with our schooling as well. I probably couldn’t pass a statistics test today nor could I stand a chance in organic chemistry. But certain classes taught by certain instructors somehow defy this notion of lost information. For whatever reason, I actually remember a few of these classes with some clarity. I think it’s the right mixture of an interesting subject, a dynamic and capable instructor, and course material that grabs the student a certain way.
By Keith Corliss , September 03, 2009
Killdeer relative known for long-distance migration
The nesting season is all but over for the vast majority of birds in the Northern Hemisphere. Many finished the business of gene perpetuation some months past. About a week ago, songbirds began to show movement away from territory, starting the process of migration. But for birders, the star attractions during this late summer lull have been shorebirds. Since the middle of July, these skinny-legged water lovers have been putting on quite a show upon their return to our area, often from high Arctic nesting grounds.
By Keith Corliss , August 20, 2009
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