This Independence Day weekend, I thought it would be fun to visit our patriotic birds that sport the colors of America, the red, white, and blue birds we enjoy in various habitats in North America.
It also got me thinking about the Lewis and Clark Expedition from August 31, 1803, to September 25, 1806, which was the United States expedition to cross the western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase.
President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the expedition to explore and to map the newly acquired territory, to find a practical route across the western half of the continent, and to establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it. The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to establish trade with local American Indian tribes.
I recalled the objectives of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from my days in grade school. Finding a path to the west coast, documenting plants and animals in their journals, and establishing trade with local tribes were worthy goals. But I don’t recall what sorts of animals were discovered and I was particularly interested in the birds they found. Thankfully, the internet and Wikipedia are now at our fingertips.
“During the 19th century, references to Lewis and Clark "scarcely appeared" in history books, even during the United States Centennial in 1876, and the expedition was largely forgotten. Lewis and Clark began to gain attention around the start of the 20th century. Both the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis and the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon showcased them as American pioneers. However, the story remained relatively shallow until mid-century as a celebration of US conquest and personal adventures, but more recently the expedition has been more thoroughly researched.
In 2004, a complete and reliable set of the expedition's journals was compiled by Gary E. Moulton. In the 2000s, the bicentennial of the expedition further elevated popular interest in Lewis and Clark. As of 1984, no US exploration party was more famous, and no American expedition leaders are more recognizable by name.“
Let’s now take a look at the list of species that Lewis and Clark discovered. All the listings here and below are live links that will take you to a photo and detailed description of each bird.
Discovered (for the first time by European Americans):
When you go on an expedition and discover an entirely new species, you get to name it after yourself, apparently. Thus we have the Lewis’ Woodpecker and the Clark’s Nutcracker, Here’s a photo I took of a Lewis’ Woodpecker:
By the way, all of the information I’m including in this diary comes from Wikipedia. The entries on the birds seen on the Lewis and Clark Expedition distinguish between birds Discovered (the listing above) and birds Described which is a much longer list. I take this to mean that these are birds seen throughout the journey but these were birds already known.
That’s quite the list. Several of these birds would be lifers for me. How about you?
A few more red, white, and blue birds before closing out this diary.
Hope you had a great 4th of July.
The floor is now open for your birdy observations and thoughts on all things birdy.