Nestcams! Wow – look who’s hatched! There are lots of chicks to see now – don’t miss the new addition peeking out from under mom in this Bald Eagle nest! Decorah Bald Eagle Cam, Explore.org Barred Owls in Indiana have three chicks! Thirty-three floors over Baltimore Peregrine Falcons have four eggs. Hatching watch starts […]
The Year of the Bird in April – Birds Need Your Help 2018 is the Year of the Bird, and in April, birds really need your help! The Year of the Bird celebrates the 100th anniversary of signing into law the Migratory Bird Treaty Act which has protected billions of birds on migration – from Peregrine Falcons to Magnolia Warblers, […]
doodle Sky Dance Have you ever seen or heard a Timberdoodle? Better known as Photo Credit: Deborah Rivel American Woodcock, this shy football-shaped forest bird cuts quite a figure dancing in the sky. In early spring woodcocks are migrating back north to get to their breeding ground, and April is a good time to see them […]
IN THE NEWS: 67 year old Albatross, Mother-to-be again! Wisdom, a 67 year old Laysan Albatross is about to become a mother again! Wisdom and her mate Photo Credit: USFWS Banded in 1956, she is now the oldest known wild bird. Albatrosses are pelagic birds, flying over water for months at a time, and […]
Complete Your Winter Backyard With a Roost Box Chickadee checking out a roost box Nest boxes and roost boxes are important components of a well-maintained bird-friendly backyard. In winter, birds really need shelter from cold, winds and predators. Leaving nest boxes up may help, but during really cold times, birds can best maintain their body […]
Project Snowstorm – Snowy Owls in Motion Snowy Owl Photo Credit: Stan Tekeila Snowy Owls are true denizens of the far north, and are only occasionally found south of the Canadian border — even in winter. These beautiful pure white owls are widely admired for their beauty, but not well understood. Project Snowstorm is changing […]
Cowbird Mysteries Brown-headed cowbirds are brood parasites – a term which is pretty much as terrible as it sounds. Basically, these cowbirds mate, and then never build a nest. The females quietly figure out which birds are building nests and then deposit eggs in the nests of these unsuspecting birds. Some birds can figure it […]
Why Do Birds Flock in Fall? At the end of the summer, you may start to see large flocks of birds. Swallows, blackbirds, cowbirds, sparrows amass — sometimes in large flocks that seem to come out of nowhere and then just as mysteriously, disappear. But why is this? And why don’t we see it at […]
Making That First Migration Young birds are leaving the nest, and many of them are getting ready for their first trip south. Migration is a hard and risky business for any bird, but the first marathon voyage for many species of birds takes place shortly after they have fledged. How do they do it? Songbirds […]
Who’s Nest Is This? Nests are pretty amazing. Every species of bird builds a different nest which exactly matches her own needs. Some are very elaborate and beautiful, others are burrows in the ground while others don’t look much like nests at all. Ever wonder what nest belongs to which bird? Here are a few […]
Welcome winter — the perfect time to watch ducks! For kids or adults who haven’t done much birding, ducks are a great place to start as they have three very important things going for them: 1 – they are big 2 – they are out on the open water and easy to see 3 […]
Fallout! Migration is a tough time for birds. Some studies have shown that it is the hardest part of the yearly life cycle for migrants, causing the most mortality. Neotropical migrating birds winter in Central and South America, then migrate to North America for the breeding season. Migration continues throughout the spring season, but if you […]
Hey wait a minute! Doesn’t migration take place in spring and fall? Well, yes…and no. Migration actually takes place year round as there are birds on the move to and from their breeding grounds at all times of year. Just like all birds don’t nest at the same time, not all birds migrate at the […]
Think only humans use highways? Not so! Animals also have paths on land, in the ocean and in the air that they follow year after year. Not unlike our daily commutes, during migration birds use known routes. In North America, for example, there are 4 main migratory superhighways generally followed by birds: Atlantic, Mississippi, Central […]
After spending their winters apart in different places – sometimes thousands of miles from where they breed, hawks, falcons and eagles are returning to the areas where they mate and nest. Not all hawks migrate, but the ones that do return to the same spot, and sometimes the exact same nest, often to meet up […]
Owls are visual hunters who take advantage of the different perceptions at night to confuse their prey. While some owls eat insects and birds, the most popular item on the menu is rodents. And to trick the rodents, owls rely on a time tested recipe for success. The first ingredient in the owl’s hunting […]