Bald Eagle photos by Larry Jordan
Biodiversity is described as the variability among living organisms on the Earth, including the variability within and between species and within and between ecosystems. In other words, biodiversity is an all encompassing term to describe the variety of all life and natural processes on Earth.
I chose these photos of the Bald Eagle (taken on the Sacramento River during the Anderson Christmas Bird Count just a few weeks ago) because this species, our national bird, only recently came back from the brink of extinction in the continental United States. After years of persecution by humans (there was actually a bounty on Bald Eagles in Alaska from 1917 until 1952) and diminished reproduction caused mainly by the use of the pesticide DDT, the Bald Eagle rebounded from its 1967 endangered species status and was de-listed in 2007.
The Bald Eagle’s story exemplifies the importance of human actions in the biodiversity equation. Everything we do or do not do has an effect on planet Earth and its inhabitants, including its human inhabitants. Human actions put the Bald Eagle in danger in the first place, then thankfully, restored their numbers to a sustainable level.
BirdLife International is an official partner of the International Year of Biodiversity and I am proud to be part of their organization.
Here is a message from the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon
Here are some links to explore ways you and I can help promote biodiversity in our everyday lives.
- Five Ways to Create Healthier Homes and Habitats
- Take Simple Steps to Live Green
- Make A Difference Today
Here is the complete list of tips from Conservation International (5mb PDF).
Go see the other great SkyWatch Friday photos too!
Comments on this entry are closed.
Nice images of the Bald Eagle Larry.
.-= Thomas´s last blog ..Kaziranga – Land of the one horned Rhino =-.
Guess I am having the comment problem again?
*testtest*
.-= Nicole´s last blog ..Blue Swallow, Hirundo atrocaerulea, Stahlschwalbe =-.
Sigh, it worked from Firefox, but not from Flock…. 🙁
OK, what I wrote in my first comment, sort of was:
I am loosing faith in these organizations a bit.
My email to BLI must have gotten lost, I guess or it went to the wrong department.
I still got no reply.
But with the things that are going on here in Egypt, it doesn’t really surprise me, that they maybe were not able to answer my questions to begin with. 🙁
Love your eagle shots though 🙂
.-= Nicole´s last blog ..Blue Swallow, Hirundo atrocaerulea, Stahlschwalbe =-.
Those eagle shots are so majestic!
Biodiversity is so very important, and I think that the more of us talk about what it means and why it is important, the better chance we have to help preserve it. The IUCN is another great resource for this “Year of Biodiversity.”
.-= Amber Coakley´s last blog ..New Recurring Feature: What I Love About Nature =-.
@Thomas thank you. I only hope to reach the level of your photography skills some day
@Nicole I sent a message to Jim Lawrence that you emailed BirdLife International with no response. I will be talking to him on Monday and see what happened
@Amber thank you for pointing this out! For those of you who didn’t know, the IUCN is the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They can be found at http://iucn.org. IUCN is a global organization that cares deeply about biodiversity and whose fundamental expertise is on species, habitats and ecosystems.
Beautiful photos, Larry! And a great reminder about 2010 being The International Year of Biodiversity. I feel a bit ashamed that we have to declare an international event to draw attention to biodiversity and its critical importance, but hopefully it will draw attention, draw people to act, draw new minds and fresh ideas focused on the most important thing we need to do.
@Jason, I couldn’t have stated it better myself. Thank you