Bird Lovers

For many years I have enjoyed the column on wild birds authored by Hank and Ruth Kowalski. I have missed it in recent weeks and now I understand that it is being discontinued. I urge the editor to reconsider this decision.

We are blessed to live in an area of unsurpassed natural beauty and biological diversity. Unfortunately, I think this fact often is under-appreciated as our county steams forward toward further development. Ultimately, the voices that will be heard urging protection for these natural resources will come from those that have learned about and grown to value these treasures.

Learning requires education and that is exactly the service provided by Hank and Ruth's column. Neither Hank nor Ruth are biologists, but they are ardent naturalists and even more enthusiastic researchers. They spent vast hours learning about the subjects of their columns, ensuring that their facts were correct. They demonstrated how the natural history of birds was relevant to their conservation.

As head of the Avian Ecology Lab' at Archbold Biological Station, I frequently receive local phone calls about birds. Over the years, the volume of those calls has increased as has the sophistication of the questions. Often, the callers would reveal that the Kowalskis' column was what got them thinking about the observations they made every day. We are surrounded by nature, but we rarely think about what we see and wonder how we fit into this natural world. The Kowalskis' column helped us to see. got us thinking and, for some of us was a trumpet call to action. We need more columns like this, not fewer. Please bring the Kowalskis back.

Reed Bowman
Sebring
Editor's note: The Kowalskis' column was discontinued for reasons we will not disclose here, but it had nothing to do with the subject matter. In fact, we are looking for a weekly or semi-weekly columnist to provide information on our area's wild birds. If intersted in writing such a column, send in two sample columns to Editor, Highlands Today, 315 U.S. 27 N., Sebring, FL, 33870 or e-mail highlandstoday@highlandstoday.com.