Eric Remington, who is both a Buddhist Monk and a Nature lover, was also a very dear friend of Koko, the gorilla who taught us that gorillas can use sign language to express their thoughts and feelings quite clearly. He has spent many hours at The Gorilla Foundation’s former gorilla sanctuary, which is currently a safe harbor for various animal species.
Eric is particularly fond and knowledgeable about birds and reptiles and has observed and documented dozens of them at the sanctuary. In this blog, Eric will be sharing his wisdom and love of Nature, Koko, all animals, and life with us — through poems, photos and stories.  We hope it inspires you to develop a closer relationship with Mother Nature too, and help us all find ways to sustain her — and us.
Following is a list of some of the birds Eric has identified, to-date, at Koko’s sanctuary.
And below that is a poem by Eric that expresses his love for all living beings …
| Birds that Dwell at Koko’s Sanctuary (as of April 2021) |
| Acorn Woodpecker |
| American Crow |
| American Goldfinch |
| American Robin |
| Anna’s Hummingbird |
| Bald Eagle |
| Band-Tailed Pigeon |
| Barn Owl |
| Barn Swallow |
| Belted Kingfisher |
| Black Phoebe |
| Black-Crowned Night Heron |
| Black-Headed Grosbeak |
| Brewer’s Blackbird |
| Brown Creeper |
| Brown-Headed Cowbird |
| Bushtit |
| California Quail |
| California Thrasher |
| Canada Goose |
| Cedar Waxwing |
| Chestnut-Backed Chickadee |
| Clark’s Nutcracker |
| Cliff Swallow |
| Common Raven |
| Common Snipe |
| Cooper’s Hawk |
| Dark-Eyed Junco |
| Downy Woodpecker |
| European Starling |
| Evening Brosbeak |
| Fox Sparrow |
| Golden Eagle |
| Golden-Crowned Sparrow |
| Great Blue Heron |
| Great Egret |
| Great Horned Owl |
| Hairy Woodpecker |
| Hammond’s Flycstcher |
| Hermit Thrush |
| Hooded Oriole |
| House Finch |
| House Sparrow |
| House Wren |
| Kestrel |
| Lesser Scamp |
| Loggerhead Shrike |
| Mac Gilliray’s Warbler |
| Mallard |
| Mocking Bird |
| Morning Dove |
| Night Hawk |
| Nuttall’s Woodpecker |
| Olive-Sided Flyctcher |
| Orange-Crowned Warbler |
| PileatedPilated Woodpecker |
| Pine Siskin |
| Plain Titmouse |
| Poor Will |
| Purple Martin |
| Pygmy Nuthatch |
| Pygmy Owl |
| Red-Breasted Nuthatch |
| Red-Breasted Sapsucker |
| Red-Shafted Flicker |
| Red-Shouldered Hawk |
| Red-Tailed Hawk |
| Red-Winged Blackbird |
| Rock Dore |
| Ruby-Crowned Kinglet |
| Rufous-Sided Towhee |
| Saw-Whet Owl |
| Scrub Jay |
| Setller’s Jay |
| Sharp-Shinned Hawk |
| Solitary Vireo |
| Song Sparrow |
| Townsend’s Warbler |
| Tree Swallow |
| Turkey Vulture |
| Varied Thrush |
| Western Bluebird |
| Western Flycatcher |
| Western Kingbird |
| Western Screech Owl |
| Western Tanager |
| Western Wood-Pewee |
| Westernn Gull |
| White-Breasted Nuthatch |
| White-Crowned Sparrow |
| White-Throated Swift |
| Wilson’s Warbler |
| Winter Wren |
| Wrentit |
| Yellow Warbler |
| Yellow-Rumped Warbler |
A poem by Eric Remington:
