I always enjoy studying Herring Gulls, just looking at variation and trying to categorize the birds into age, sex, and regional groups. Last winter I was watching the gull flock at Turners Falls, MA, paying special attention to when the adults molted into breeding plumage. My thought was that the early-molting birds would be from […]
The head shape of Herring Gulls seems to change seasonally Read More »
In early December 2016, David Pierce of Wildwood, Missouri, noticed an odd woodpecker at his feeder and took some really nice photos. I always marvel at the path these kinds of stories follow: Dave had to be looking carefully enough to notice the slight differences in this bird, make the effort to take some good
A melanistic Downy Woodpecker Read More »
Thank you to the birders of Mississippi for a wonderful weekend April 28-29 around Oxford. Special thanks to the MOS, Delta Wind Birds, The Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Wild Birds Unlimited of Jackson, and the other sponsors for making it all possible. The birding was excellent, as passing thunderstorms pushed migrants down and kept birds
The Mississippi Ornithological Society meeting Read More »
While I was at Great Gull Island, New York, July 3-5, two different Peregrine Falcons were passing through the tern colony. I never saw one catch a tern, but they were definitely hunting as they rocketed over the island low and fast with about a hundred screaming terns right behind, then turned and made another
Peregrine Falcon raiding the tern colony Read More »
This image is for sale in an auction here Identification of downy young sandpipers can be a real challenge in the arctic, where multiple species occur, but I saw and sketched this one on Great Gull Island, New York, last weekend. At that latitude only a few other species are possible, and most are easily eliminated
A very young sandpiper Read More »
The artwork shown here is available for sale, click here to view current auctions After being nearly invisible for weeks, the local chickadees here in Massachusetts are suddenly everywhere. This is their typical pattern, and it’s common to many species. Nesting pairs become very quiet and secretive while they have eggs and young in the
Juvenile chickadees Read More »
The artwork shown here is available for sale, click here to view current auctions Birds are busy this time of year, trying to raise a family (or two or three) and then get ready for fall migration, and it all goes so fast. The young birds are full-grown just a few weeks after they hatch,
‘Tis the season for baby birds Read More »
On my usual birding circuit on the morning of 26 May 2015, along the Assabet River in Concord, MA, I heard the distinctive song of a Mourning Warbler. This species is a rare but regular migrant through the area, so finding one is a highlight any day, and I set to work to try to
An interesting warbler Read More »
No matter how serious you are about birding, or how much you want to see hawks, a Mourning Dove will always have a stronger interest in spotting them. Birds that are in mortal danger of hawk attacks have excellent eyesight and are constantly alert to any potential threat. It’s a safe bet that they will spot
Finding hawks by watching doves Read More »
Download a free one-page guide to American Woodcock display The flight display of the male American Woodcock has to be one of the most remarkable avian performances in the world. And yet, despite the fact that countless ornithologists and birders have marveled at this spring spectacle, some very basic questions are still unanswered, including this
The mysterious sounds of the American Woodcock Read More »