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 […]
Blog Tag: migratory birds
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 […]
Great Views of Shorebirds Now
Birds at the beach never cease to amaze. Not only are Marbled Godwit and American Oystercatchers Photo Credit: Deborah Rivel they capable of migrating extremely long distances non-stop (some manage several days at a time and thousands of miles over open water), there are different species on the move year round. Fall is a […]
Who’s Migrating Now?
Who’s Migrating in Summer? Piping Plovers, Photo Credit: Deborah Rivel Spring and Fall migration get all the press. After all, songbirds like warblers or goldfinches traveling in spring look spectacular and move in large numbers. And they can often be seen in our own backyards. But migration continues throughout the year, with different species of […]
ID Warblers With a Free Downloadable Guide
ID Warblers With a Free Downloadable Guide Warblers are in our midst right now and for some of us, every year it’s a similar challenge to make the correct ID of all the different species of this popular songbird migrating A downloadable Warbler Guide from Princeton University Press through, or nesting in our area. The […]
Purple Martins Are Coming Your Way!
Purple Martins are Coming – Be Ready! Photo Credit: Deborah Rivel Purple Martins are on their way north and looking for nesting sites. With their enchanting song and effective insect removal efforts – especially when there are chicks in the summer – these birds are a delight to have around. And if you want to […]
Where to See Birds Now: CUBA
Where to See Birds Now: CUBA Blue-headed Quail-dove Photo Credit: Deborah Rivel As Cuba becomes easier to visit it is rapidly becoming a hot “bucket-list” destination for travelers. For birdwatchers it offers a variety of habitats and over 20 endemic birds – birds that can only be found in Cuba. If you are keeping a […]
Duck Mating Behavior
Duck Mating Behavior When you are watching ducks and other waterfowl this winter, get ready for a lot of action, because it’s also mating season! Photo Credit: Stan Tekeila Waterfowl mating behaviors can be pretty weird – ranging from the slightly unusual to the outrageous. We found a few videos you might enjoy for a little […]
Travel: Easy Birding in Panama
TRAVEL: Easy Birding in Panama If you are looking for a birding adventure a little farther from home, winter is an exceptionally good time to visit the Caribbean, Central and South America. If you have been wanting to visit a tropical forest with loads of fabulous birds, one of the best and easiest countries to […]
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 […]
A Day at the Beach
A Day at the Beach What could be more summer-like than a day at the beach? Who doesn’t love having fun in the water and on the sand? And the beach is a popular spot for wildlife as well. Terrapins cross busy streets to get from the marsh to Piping Plover chick the sandy shores […]
Your Summer Backyard
Your Summer Backyard Your backyard in summer is different from the rest of the year. In each season, birds have different needs, and summer can be extreme – both because of the heat and the additional pressure of feeding baby and juvenile birds. You may be providing a lot of food for birds – in […]
Watching Migration Fly By
Watching Migration Fly By We couldn’t resist this terrific piece of info on migration from Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Using millions of pieces of data from ebird combined with other sources, they put together an animated map of 118 species of birds and their movements including migration, throughout one year. It’s fascinating to see that some […]
Eating Like a Bird
Eating Like a Bird Birds have much different eating habits than humans – especially during migration when they really need to add calories to deal with the stress and energy requirements of long hours of flying. You may have been chided by your mother at one point that you ate like a bird, but if […]
Ospreys on the Move
Ospreys on the Move! We promise songbirds will start migrating through soon. Until then, there is still a lot of raptor activity to keep you busy! Eagles and many hawks are already nesting, but Osprey, who cannot tolerate cold weather, are on the move right now. Having overwintered in South America and Cuba, they are feeling the […]
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 […]
Looking For Hawks on Migration Watching hawks migrate can be done anywhere along their migration route. There are well known hotspots where hawks can be seen in great numbers on migration. But you don’t need to travel far to see hawks on the move. If you are on a flyway, you can look up to […]
The Mystery of the Migration Route
The Mystery of the Migration Route Do birds fly the same route on migration in spring and fall? Would it surprise you that many of them don’t? In fact, scientists are finding out that many birds, especially in spring, follow a path of new plant growth — what is called a “green wave” of migration […]
Where to Watch Hawk Migration
Where to Watch Hawk Migration Fall migration means many species of birds are on the move. September and October are great times to see birds heading south, and this month we have a terrific fall migration hotspot to visit. Duluth, Minnesota is located on the western tip of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in […]