#Birdmander conservation call to action:

The history of Passenger Pigeons shows that even abundant bird species can be devastated by careless human activity.

There were an estimated 3 to 5 billion Passenger Pigeons in North America at the time of European colonization. By 1914, they were extinct.

12 of 100: Restless Anchorage

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: Northern Gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic. They have wingspans of up to 2 meters, and will travel up to 300 kilometers to hunt.

#MTG #Birdmander

11 of 100: Serra Aviary

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: Modern aviaries are more than zoos, and play important roles in conservation and research.

The National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA, USA houses more than 150 different species of birds.

#MTG #Birdmander

10 of 100: Carrier Pigeons

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: The first regular airmail service in New Zealand was operated by the Great Barrier Pigeongram Agency, which opened in 1897. Special pigeon post stamps were issued, and the service continued delivering mail until 1908.

#MTG #Birdmander

#Birdmander conservation call to action:

Canada's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change recently approved a hunting season for Sandhill Cranes in Ontario. Sandhill Cranes are a conservation success story; in the 1930s, fewer than 25 breeding pairs remained.

Allowing crane hunts is a mistake.

9 of 10: Animal Sanctuary

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: There are 92 Migratory Bird Sanctuaries across Canada, comprising almost 11.5 million hectares of migratory bird habitat that provides safe refuge for birds.

#MTG #Birdmander

8 of 100: Migratory Route

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: Despite weighing less than 6 grams, tiny Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds migrate between North and Central America every year, including crossing over the Gulf of Mexico during a single 20-hour, non-stop flight.

#MTG #Birdmander

7 of 100: Pileated Provisioner

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: Pileated Woodpeckers excavate nest holes in dead trees that are so large, they can snap small trees in half. Racoons and small mammals, as well as other birds, may repurpose abandoned woodpecker nests as homes of their own.

#MTG #Birdmander

6 of 100: Thalakos Lowlands

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: Edge habitats, at the intersection of different terrain types (like grasslands and wetlands), are some of the best places for birdwatching, and can support a remarkable diversity of species.

#MTG #Birdmander

5 of 100: Swords to Plowshares (Ice Age printing)

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: A Picasso lithograph, titled "La Colombe (The Dove)," was chosen as the emblem for the World Peace Council in Paris in April 1949.

#MTG #Birdmander

4 of 100: Colorful Feiyi Sparrow

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: The true sparrow family (Passer) contains 48 different species, ranging in size from the Chestnut Sparrow (~11 cm long) to the Parrot-Billed Sparrow (~18 cm long).

#MTG #Birdmander

#Birdmander conservation call to action:

The tiny Magellanic Plover is endangered by habitat loss and climate change. Local conservation groups in Argentina and Chile are doing incredible work to protect the species.

You can learn more here: www.manomet.org/publication/...

3 of 100: Adarkar Wastes

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: The tiny Magellanic Plover nests on the Patagonian steppe, often on the unsheltered sides of lakebeds, where average windspeeds routinely exceed 100 km/h.

Despite its name, the Magellanic Plover is not a plover.

#MTG #Birdmander

2 of 100: Mockingbird

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: Male mockingbirds learn to imitate the songs of other birds, as well as environmental noises, like sirens and car alarms.

In the 19th century, so many Mockingbirds were kept as cage pets, they nearly disappeared from the eastern U.S.

#MTG #Birdmander

1 of 100: Kastral, the Windcrested

Wingspan-Style Fun Fact: The best way to use binoculars for birdwatching is to first locate the bird with your bare eyes, then, without looking away, raise the binoculars to your face.

#MTG #Birdmander

Kastral is the Commander. I can't afford the gold-lazer-extra-cripsy version that clearly shows the binoculars, so I'm just running the $1 Kastral.

I love Jesper's art, but it's hard to see the binos on the actual, printed card. 😿

I'll post a couple cards each day in this tread.

#MTG #Birdmander

I did it. I built a birdwatching Commander deck.

Deck rules:

1. Every card has to have an obvious visual or flavor connection to birds or birdwatching.
2. Bird creatures have to look like regular birds (i.e. no Aven).
3. Every card comes with a related, Wingspan-style bird fact.

#MTG #Birdmander