Posts Tagged "Checklists"

Birds are one of the best known species groups.  They are highly visible, and many species are easily identified.  Conservationists often refer to birds as indicators of general environmental conditions.  The ‘canary in the coal mine’ idea.  Recent information form the National Audubon Society suggests the canary may be sagging.

The knowledge of bird species distribution and trends in Arizona is good at state and county levels, but is not so good for smaller areas.  A critical need is for an expanded network of repeated observations.  Contributions to this blog can help.

The photograph shows a Belted Kingfisher studying a pond near the Agua Fria River in the Town of Dewey-Humboldt.

Checklists of plant and animal species one might see in a particular place make useful notebooks for recording sightings.  Sometimes called life lists, such notebooks take the place of the stamps, coins, and arrowheads collected by others.  Though their objects are different, all collectors want to protect their collections.  They are all curators or conservationists.  Checklists are one of the basic tools for nature conservation.

The photograph shows a Rock Squirrel on a fence post.  Normally seen serving as sentries atop boulders, this one lives in a colony near the Agua Fria River in Dewey-Humboldt, AZ, an area lacking boulders.