BirdWatching

Using cloud computing and data from 143 weather radar stations across the continental United States, Cornell Lab of Ornithology researchers recently estimated how many birds migrate through the U.S. and the toll that winter and the birds’ migratory j

Whooping and Sandhill Cranes are gaining new allies as utility companies in Kansas and Wisconsin work to prevent the birds from colliding with powerlines during their migratory journeys. In Kansas, since 2013, utility companies have marked more than

In July 2017, the American Ornithological Society recognized Cassia Crossbill, a species distinct from the widespread Red Crossbill. The new species occurs in just two small mountain ranges in Idaho — the South Hills and Albion Mountains — on the nor

A stocky, showy finch of northern coniferous forests, Evening Grosbeak is quite a visual treat. Males are a contrast of bright yellow, black, and white, while females sport slightly more subdued grays and browns. All individuals have a large, conical

Read more about the following topics at www.BirdWatchingDaily.com! The organizers of the Bird Photographer of the Year competition announced the contest winners for 2018. The contest, now in its third year, attracted thousands of entries form over 60

INCREASINGLY, we live in a society estranged from the outdoors. In this age of passive indoor climate control and dual-passenger automobile climate settings, basic principles relating to staying dry, warm, or cool are no longer part of our cultural D

Josh Bridwell laughs. He and his wife, Brooke Durham, run SoCal Parrot, a wild-parrot rescue in San Diego. Durham is in the passenger seat of the SUV. In the back are several dog carriers. But we’re not carrying dogs. We’ve got parrots, we’re driving

When we look at field guides, the birds are SO easy to identify. We can see every characteristic, every field mark: the heavy stripes on a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak’s head, the blotchy dark spot in the Song Sparrow’s breast, the two-tone bill of

Book publishers continue to bring out lots of notable and useful titles aimed at birdwatchers. It’s both challenging and fun to try to keep up with them all! On the following pages, we highlight 10 books that have been published in 2018, covering bir

Many kinds of wildlife will sample the sweet taste of tree sap when it’s easily available. Various woodpeckers will occasionally drill into bark to get access to the sap. But the four species of sapsuckers of North America are unique in their degree

When I fill my feeders during a blizzard or when temperatures dip to 20 below, I’m always thrilled to see my chickadees already there, waiting for me. They zip in for still-room-temperature seeds and not-yet-frozen suet before I step away from the fe

Vision is the most important sensory system for birds, and it is more highly developed in birds than any other vertebrate, including humans. There are many reasons. First, bird eyes are huge in relation to the size of their heads. They are proportion

In much of the country, winter birding means scanning open water in search of ducks, loons, cormorants, and anything else that might be out there. The birds we find are often distant, and identification is a challenge not because the species are simi