10000 Birds – What is the State Bird of Rhode Island?

When I picture state birds, I picture the gorgeous Scissor-tailed Flycatcher of Oklahoma, the pristine white feathers of Alaska’s Willow Ptarmigan, or the haunting call of Minnesota’s Common Loon. I don’t picture chickens. And yet, that is the very bird Rhode Islanders chose for their state bird: the Rhode Island Red Hen! Read the rest…

Birding Maine – Whale Watching for Birds

The weather didn’t look very promising. My then boyfriend (now husband) and I waited in line for the Odyssey whale watch that was scheduled to depart at 9 a.m. sharp. My father, mother, brother, and grandmother (my unlucky sister had to work in Portsmouth all day) were off searching Portland’s cobbled streets for coffee and…

Duke Nicholas School – Why Google’s Doodle Meant So Much to Me

Everyone loves the Google Doodle program. Google’s founders decided to incorporate the illustrations before the company was even born, and today they have a dedicated team of “doodlers” and engineers to create the cartoons. According to the Google Doodle “about” page, “creating doodles has become a group effort to enliven the Google homepage and bring…