Blog | The Birding Trips of Bob Barnes | Robert Barnes

Mexico City - Puebla - Mexico

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 06:53:25 -0700

For a week in October (October 16 - 21) I spent some time in the central highlands of Mexico. The trip started with a flight on Volaris Airlines out of Juarez to Mexico City and ended with a long wait to recross the border at El Paso.

On our first day we rode a double decker tourist bus, in the rain, on the top level, to the Museo Nacional de Antropología where we spent a good part of the day, seeing only a small portion of their extensive and wonderful collection. This is the largest and most visited museum in Mexico. On day of our visit (on a rainy weekday) the mass of people did not materialize and it was an enjoyable experience. This museum is reason enough to return to Mexico City.

Museo Nacional de Antropología (MNA), Mexico City, Mexico

Following the early people theme we also spent a day at Teotihuacán in the state of Mexico and a day a Choula in the state of Puebla.

Photographs from the Museo Nacional de Antropología and Teotihuacán have been posted to galleries at the www.earlypeople.org website.

Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacán, Mexico

Street vendor offerings at Choula, the grasshoppers are
quite good - crunch and spice.

Choula’s entrance is via a 800 meter tunnel which runs through the bottom of the pyramid (which has the largest footprint of any pyramid in the world). Other than that, the earth hill which is most of the remains of the pyramid is topped by a Spanish chapel, in the manner of religions asserting their dominance.

White Sands Missile Range

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 05:51:45 -0600

Recently, I had a chance to join the Las Cruces Chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Mexico on a field trip to the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). The draw for me was two-fold. The opportunity to be around people who knew a lot more than I do about something I am interested in was important. I enjoy photographing plants, but I do not have the technical expertise of the other people on this outing. Secondly, the WSMR is generally a restricted area with access granted only in special circumstances. I have only been on the range on one other occasion, on a visit to Lake Lucero to photograph selenite crystals at that location.

On September 21, 2019, tour participants met in Las Cruces. From there we headed to the entry gate just north of US-70, to await our WSMR guides. Our wait provided a great opportunity to photograph the Organ Mountains.

The Organ Mountains from the East

From the gate we traveled north along the eastern border of the San Andres Mountains and then west into Rhodes Canyon and the gravesite of Eugene Manlove Rhodes. Our travel was by a convoy of personal vehicles with WSMR personnel at the front and the back of the cavalcade. We stopped only so one of the vehicles could have a tire changed and at outhouses so the humans could remedy their ails.

Trinidad & Tobago

Thu, 26 Apr 2018 04:19:09 -0600

American Flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber,
Caroni Swamp, Trinidad

During the first two weeks of April (2018), I returned to Trinidad & Tobago for the third time. This time, Rebecca joined me and I promised her a “birding lite” experience. None of this before dawn to after dusk, and a bit of midnight, birding stuff - nope, this would be a soft trip. I really wanted to show her the islands.

Our trip started with a seven-hour delay in our flight out of El Paso and a forced overnight in Houston, but United Airlines was on-time the rest of the time. (I must admit, however, that the opportunity to buy a snack on a five and a half our international flight is nowhere near what I call service.)

We booked our “independent” travel through Caligo Ventures. Their support was excellent and the arrangements they made worked flawlessly. In this context, “independent” simply means that we were not on a tour. The two of us traveled by ourselves but all of the lodging, flights, and land transport were arranged by Caligo.

We arrived in Trinidad at about 9 p.m., a driver from Asa Wright was there to transport us to the Nature Center and our trip began in earnest. This was my third visit to Asa Wright and our five-night stay proved to be up to standard, a high standard. I did video from the verandah and along the trails including a tour to the Oilbird grotto. The number of birds in the grotto was significantly less than the number I had experienced in previous visits.

Greed and Markets

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 06:18:54 -0700

Being a western European type it is probably blasphemy for me to criticize market economies but I am increasingly convinced that using such systems to address our major problems will be (and has been) disastrous.

I have long been concerned about the substantial pain that humans experience and mother earth endures because of the incredibly slow response time of market economies to new realities -- not to mention those which are developing but which have not yet had an economic effect. Any large capital investment program is seriously inhibited by market mechanisms. Global warming, for instance, does not create economic disruption at the moment so market economies fail to respond to this very real threat -- in fact, those types of economies aggravate the threat, they increase both the magnitude and speed at which it is occurring. But greed, and market economies are the social manifestation of greed, is such a powerful and devious trait that humans seem powerless when confronted with this fundamental weakness of our psychic.

Building A Wall

Mon, 22 Jan 2018 07:01:52 -0700

On April 18, 2008 I wrote: I have been in Hillsboro, New Mexico (USA) for two days - continuing the long process of preparing for the relocation to here, from Portland, Oregon (USA). I spent much of the day in Las Cruces looking for a wall contractor - the one I had been talking to from Truth or Consequences not only did not show up, he failed to return phone calls. (From the future: A recurring problem of the Anglo culture in this part of the world…)

While in Las Cruces I met with a number of solar energy contractors. As I discussed photo voltaic systems with one I could not help notice a nice collection of hummingbird feeders outside his window. When I handed him my business card we wandered off into the world of birds. He is an ornithologist by training, having done his graduate work on the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. The world is full of the periodic crossing of paths. Earlier in the day I had been discussing solar hot water systems with another contractor when I noted a number of posters and pictures of the Alaska Railroad. Alaska is not a heavily populated place but here he was in Las Cruces, New Mexico after a number of years in Alaska with the Public Health Service; across the street lives a woman who spent years in Alaska providing dental services in the bush; Rebecca and Barbara (Rebecca’s long-time best friend - who were visiting) also spent significant time in Alaska; and I spent time in Alaska as a youth and later as an adult.

Being A Reader

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 07:05:04 -0700

I really am getting tired of writing about people dying.

One of my greatest capabilities is the ability to read. Many people share this capability with me, but this lack of uniqueness does not affect my gratitude for having the ability (an interesting concept which is worth consideration). There are a number of people who deserve credit for helping me develop that capability but the Stratemeyer Syndicate (Howard Garis, W. Bert Foster, John Duffield, and Tom Mitchell -- all writing under the pseudonym “Victor Appelton” -- the authors of the Tom Swift series) and Arthur C. Clarke certainly are at the top of the list. I devoured books by these people, all had a technological backdrop and seemed utterly plausible at the time -- and since many of their forecasts (like Clarke’s predictions about satellite communications) have materialized I suppose that was an accurate assessment. They fueled my imagination and, in the process, created a reader. Thank you Arthur Clarke.

(By the way, 25 of the original Tom Swift books are available for free download from the Guttenberg Project - under Victor Appleton.)

Beacons and Space

Fri, 12 Jan 2018 10:59:10 -0700

From my notes on February 28, 2008: I am hitting the road, gently I hope, since I will want to use it again. I leave behind this work of art. I call it “The Light at the End of the Tunnel”. It is not an issue of importance that it is neither a light nor located at the end of the tunnel. It is in fact, the base of an antenna pole which is at the apex of our house in Hillsboro. One of my jobs over the last few days was taking down this antenna - which had bent and was in the trees. It required a lot of roof work to get to the end of the guy wires and cut them -- all nine of them -- and the antenna had to be cut into three six foot sections and the mast separated. With the deed done, and not wanting to remove the base until we have roof work done, I looked down from above and observed that I had made a great rain gauge, the center of the mast being hollow. Sitting water on the roof was not a good idea, I thought, so I found an insulator (my range of tools and supplies being very limited) and mounted it on the mast.

Wings

Fri, 05 Jan 2018 06:21:57 -0700

I first posted the following entry on February 10, 2008:

When Darwin first described the laws of evolution some of his most significant criticism came from Saint George Jackson Mivart who argued that slow continual development of structures (like wings) would be disadvantageous to a creature and natural selection would sort them out before reaching fruition. He argued, instead, that structures like wings would have to evolve completely (or nearly so) in a sudden and dramatic event. Darwin responded with the observation that structures may evolve to serve one purpose and be used for other purposes after having developed to a particular stage. Wings (of insects and birds) have long been an example around which this argument swirled. In the end, Darwin has been proven correct. In the mid-1980’s Kingsolver and Koehl published the results of their substantial research on this issue (Evolution, 1985). It had long been argued that the most likely reason appendages (which would eventually develop into wings) would start to develop would be based on thermodynamics. Koehl and Kingsolver demonstrated that this was true (that appendages would serve a significant thermodynamic benefit) and that at the point of their maximum thermodynamic capabilities (the point of diminishing returns) they were significant enough to provide aerodynamic benefits - stability during falling, “parachuting”, gliding, and eventually flying. (While continuing to provide thermodynamic benefits.) Living primitive species, like the Southern Screamer (from Brazil, pictured above) and the Hoatzin (from Peru, pictured above) also provide clues to the intersection between thermodynamics and aerodynamics. These species have “claws” at the “elbows” of their wings which allow them to climb through vegetation with greater ease. This appears to be especially useful before young birds fledge.

Through A Viewfinder

Thu, 04 Jan 2018 06:36:30 -0700

In the early 1990’s the video viewfinder I used was a crystal clear black-and-white imager which allowed for very sharp focus. It was great in low light but almost useless in the jungle where, absent movement, is was almost impossible to pick a bird out of the tangle - regardless of how brightly colored the bird was. Later, color viewfinders made it to the market and although not as sharp as the black-and-white viewfinders I could find a bird in the jungle by using them. It was something akin to watching a brightly colored Northern Cardinal fly across a clearing and into the shadows. How is it possible for something to be so obvious one moment and so obscure the next?

Like a black-and-white viewfinder, extremists view the world without the benefit of ambiguity and its nuances, they do not see the color. However, their focus is often very sharp and clear -- don’t bother me with the facts or the nuances seems to be their motto, whether they are from the left or the right.

“Now those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth, and let me remind you they are the ones who always create the most hellish tyranny.” --Senator Barry Goldwater

Eyak Has Died & Taps

Wed, 03 Jan 2018 10:32:08 -0700

The following was originally posted on January 25, 2008:

The last native speaker of the Eyak language, Marie Smith Jones (photo by APRN), has died in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Humankind’s plummet toward uniformity continues.

Eyak is most closely related to the Navajo language of Arizona and New Mexico, USA. The Eyak were able to maintain their culture and language despite constant pressures from stronger and more affluent language groups -- until now. In the end, English vanquished it. The map above depicts the geographic range of the various Alaskan Native languages.

The argument over the pros and cons of diversity or conformity is significant. I have long believed that language affects our ability to observe the world and ourselves -- along the lines of Peter Farb’s argument in “Word Play”. There are certainly limits to his line of argument but in the end it is more persuasive than the contrary arguments about innate abilities (as in many arguments the truth lies between the two - or more accurately, consists of both).

A Few Book Reviews

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 06:32:56 -0700

The following entries are a few book reviews published on May 13, 2014 on the www.bobbarnes.us website.

Reviews From the Past

I have finished reading "When China Ruled The Seas" by Louise Leavathes. Her take on the issue of the great Chinese Treasure Fleets is more conservative than that described in 1421 and she dwells on the dynamics of Chinese society to a greater extent. After reading these different interpretations I surmise that the truth lies in the middle with the likelihood that the description in 1421 is more likely to develop a solid base than it is to contract dramatically. It is fairly well documented that the Chinese were traveling to Africa, India, Arabia, and Australia very early -- much earlier than the last of the great Treasure Fleets. That should not be surprising, but to take those early contacts as a diminishment of Columbus, Cook, et. al. is a serious mistake. The question is not who got there first, the question is what happen afterward. In the case of the Chinese, their early contacts in Australia probably went on for centuries and that is significant, their trade with Africa and India was significant, and their probable contacts in the "New World" are significant. All of those accomplishments lead to the spread of Chinese knowledge and technological advancements - things that the Arab and European worlds used as foundations for their achievements in the 15th century to present.

Just A Blog

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 05:56:19 -0700

Sometimes things don’t fit into nice little geographic boxes, this is the place for those things. It is just a blog, a blog with posts about the things of the mind. As such it needs no special name - it is simply a blog. For a while, these entries will consist (mostly) of reprints of blog posts from the past. The following entry was first published on April 1, 2014 and was the first entry of my blog on www.bobbarnes.us.

In the Form of Twain

Samuel Clemens, in his autobiography, mused about the best way to describe one’s life and in the end it came down to a choice between “first to last” and “what I was thinking about this morning”. He opted for the later, choosing to write about what moved him at the moment. Being a great fan of Mark Twain I choose the same approach.

Some time ago I was much younger, I wandered through the woods, across the desert, along streams and rivers, and through waves crashing on tropical beaches. I tripped down jungle trails and climbed across ice fields and up mountains -- always in search of the incredible beauty of nature -- always in search of a story. I, since my earliest memories, have wanted to make art by capturing images on film. I have had an adventure here and there -- adventures can be strange, sometimes they aren’t really that much fun when they are happening, but they are later -- when they become stories. I thought I would take this opportunity to share some of the stories with you.