Join The Christmas Bird Count

Join the Christmas Bird Count     Make your holiday season extra-special this year and do something important for bird conservation by participating in the Christmas Bird Count. Every year from December 14 through January 5 people around the world get outside and count the birds in their area or even just their yard.  When […]

Fall For Your Own Native Plant Meadow

  To ensure you attract birds, butterflies and other wildlife in Monarch Butterfly Photo Credit: Deborah Rivel abundance to your yard, there is no better choice than planting a meadow with native plants. Not only is a mature meadow a stunningly beautiful sight of waving flowers with butterflies and birds darting in and out, but it’s […]

Pesky Critters in Your Backyard?

    Squirrels got your goat?  Hawks or the neighbors cats using your feeder as a buffet table? Maybe that resident woodpecker is using your house for hammering practice? Whatever the issue is there are often simple and humane solutions! For example, getting the right feeder can help control unwanted birds, or eliminate bees and […]

Confusing Fall Warblers

Confusing Fall Warblers It’s that time of year again when even the most experienced birder might be puzzled by the fall plumage of warblers.  For new birders, fall warblers can be a real challenge as not only are they much quieter (so it’s often difficult to make the ID with sound), but their molt takes […]

Your Fall Backyard Tuneup

Your Fall Backyard Tuneup In fall, birds’ needs start changing. The bird houses you set up in spring and which saw a lot of activity are now vacant. Pressure to secure food for hungry mouths in the nest has subsided, and now many birds are bulking up for migration. To create a friendly backyard for […]

More Nestcams!

More Nestcams! ‘Tis the season! Birds are still nesting, and this month, there are a few new nestcams including Atlantic Puffins, Arctic Terns, Allen’s Hummingbird, Peregrine Falcons, Osprey and Double-crested Cormorants. NEW nests with lots of chicks and behavior to watch! Allen’s Hummingbird, California Atlantic Puffins, Maine Arctic Terns, Maine Peregrine Falcons, Idaho Osprey, Maine […]

The Importance of Brush Piles

The Importance of Brush Piles During winter, many trees and bushes lose their leaves, leaving birds and animals with fewer places to hide. Wildlife can be attracted to your backyard by providing food, clean water, and cover. Creating a brush pile can provide a valuable safe spot for birds to use to escape predators and […]

Making That First Migration

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 […]

Feeding Tips to Attract Birds To Your Backyard

Feeding Tips to Attract Birds to Your Backyard   If you want your backyard to attract as many birds as possible, you are going to need to provide a variety of  different food sources, fresh water and a safe spot to feed and live. It may sound like a tall order, but actually, it’s easier […]

Radar Birding: What It’s All About

Radar Birding:  What’s It All About Stay on the cutting edge of birding with RADAR data! Meterologists have being using RADAR stations throughout the country to track and predict weather patterns for decades. But recently, birders have been using RADAR technology to track and understand bird movements! Here is a brief guide to getting started […]

Gale Force Migration

Gale Force Migration Bird migration is heavily linked to weather patterns and systems as they move across the country.  In the fall, fast Cormorants migrating moving northwest winds, especially ahead of a front, help speed migrating birds ahead of tempestuous weather.  But fall migration coincides with another huge event in North America —  hurricane season […]