I read to my kids each night, but this week, we read a book that really made a difference to us.

Wild Wings by Gill Lewis

My friend Helen took this photo near Sanibel Island, located off the west coast of Florida.

How an Osprey Brought Our Family Together

I started reading this book to my daughter Nora. Nearby, my husband and son worked on a puzzle. Often I read one book to Nora and one to my son Russell because they like different topics. But this time, the book was so interesting; soon I could see that all of them were listening.

The evenings passed. It has never happened that all four of us were completely enthralled with a book, and it felt very cozy. We would sit in the living room with only a few lamps on, feeling warm in the winter night.

We came to the final chapters. There was a part that was particularly moving (which I won’t give away) and I felt tears come to my eyes. I looked up at my husband and there were tears in his eyes too. I cry easily, but it was surprising to see this on my husband’s face. My kids were looking back and forth between us. I managed to read the book to the end.

When we looked at each other, this pause felt like a different type of “wildlife moment.” Our family spends time outside and cultivates our love of nature. But I realized this moment was special in its own way. Children remember and internalize values when their parents show vulnerability or pause. Life can be a rush of tasks and decisions. That look across our family told the perfect unspoken story.

Here is a related quote that I love:

“There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots, the other is wings.” — Hodding Carter, Jr.

I would suggest reading the book Wild Wings, or more importantly, slow down with those you love. It’s winter, it’s time to snuggle.

Osprey Activities for Your Family

• Purchase Wild Wings through this link and support National Wildlife Federation.
• Download this coloring page and fact sheet about ospreys.
• Check out this Ranger Rick Adventure comic when he learns about ospreys in the Everglades.
• At my kids’ school, the grade five class is watching osprey migrations via the DFYI Osprey project.
• Get tips on watching birds of prey during Hawk Watch each fall.
• Download this activity worksheet about birds of prey.
• Purchase a bird watching kit from National Wildlife Federation and support our work.

How NWF is Helping Ospreys:

• Chesapeake Bay- NWF works to protect water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, home to many ospreys.
• Gulf of Mexico – NWF works to address the BP Oil Spill in osprey habitat such as Bon Secour Refuge.
• Michigan – NWF works to address the Enbridge oil spill, which affected osprey habitat.
• North Carolina – NWF certified a Community Wildlife Habitat where they built osprey platforms.
• Tribal Lands – NWF’s Tribal Lands program works with tribes to protect osprey habitat, such as the White Mountain Apache.

What You Can Do for Ospreys:

Ospreys rely on healthy waterways for their diet of fish. Take action to protect America’s waterways for ospreys and other water-loving wildlife.

Information about Ospreys:

• Read this National Wildlife article about the status of ospreys in North America.
• The Red Lake Band of the Chippewa has made conserving wildlife and habitat one of its top priorities, including osprey habitat.

Osprey Photos from the 2011 National Wildlife^® Photo Contest

See more osprey photos from the photo contest.

Rachel Kramer is a former program assistant for the National Wildlife Federation’s Climate Change, Deforestation & Agriculture Project. She recently returned from 10 weeks of research in rural Madagascar and is now a Doris Duke Conservation Fellow at Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Here’s Rachel’s take on the situation:

As strange as it seems, there’s a connection between guitars, lemurs … and poverty.

Insufficient global traceability for wood products masks the origins of precious hardwoods like rosewood and ebony that continue to be illegally cut in Madagascar’s Parks & Protected Areas, as well as other high-biodiversity rainforests across the globe. These enter murky supply chains and lead to furniture stores in China and big-brand instrument manufacturers in the United States.

The tragedy of illegal logging in Madagascar extends beyond conservation concerns. In this trafficking, a few corrupt individuals, companies and officials receive enormous financial spoils, while local communities which depend on the environmental services forests provide suffer acute consequences. And consumers in the United States and elsewhere have become unknowing accomplices.

But illegal logging isn’t the only driver of forest loss in Madagascar. Political instability continues to perpetuate poverty and economic insecurity on this diverse island, hurting local livelihoods, and driving accelerated forest loss for low-yield agriculture in the absence of alternatives.

I spent the past two months living in forest-bordering communities in northeastern Madagascar, leading socio-economic research on the origins of habitat disturbance for a species of critically endangered lemur, the silky sifaka. Whistle-blowers have managed to curb illegal logging in Marojejy National Park, where the highest populations of ‘silkies’ currently remain, but forests continue to be cleared for low-yielding staple and cash crops. Insufficient access to education, healthcare, and basic infrastructure perpetuates food insecurity and keeps new generations from pursuing a better future.

The 2008 amendment to the U.S. Lacey Act now provides legal capacity to address the problem of illegal woods entering the United States, but the same protections don’t exist in other countries, especially China. A better international tracking and certification system is urgently needed to ensure that ‘bad’ wood isn’t making it into consumer products at the expense of communities and critically endangered wildlife. But creative options for integrated conservation and development that empowers local communities to maintain forest resources is also essential. And for this, we need to strengthen civil society within Madagascar and support international conservation organizations working to make a difference in the field.

Watch the full documentary:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Learn how NWF is working to protect the world’s forests, then take action.

See video clip >>

The meerkat or suricate Suricata suricatta is a member of the mongoose family. It inhabits all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a “mob”, “gang” or “clan”. A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats at a time,  Meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years.