March/April 2022

BirdWatching

Feel the thrill of finding, attracting, and identifying birds

BirdWatching1 min readInternet & Web
More To Read On BirdWatchingDaily.com
Over the second half of last year, a Steller’s Sea-Eagle wandered around eastern Canada before flying to Massachusetts and then Maine. Erika Zambello wrote for us about seeing it on New Year’s Eve. As 2021 came to a close, we shared a post featuring
BirdWatching2 min read
The Best Birds
IT’S NOT OFTEN that I come across a photo of a chickadee that is worthy of being on the magazine’s cover. Chickadees, of course, are adorable, but their black and white plumage can be challenging to turn into a compelling photo — especially for a cov
BirdWatching1 min read
BirdWatching
Editor Matt Mendenhall Founding Editor Eldon D. Greij, 1937-2021 Contributing Editors Pete Dunne, Laura Erickson, Kenn Kaufman, David Allen Sibley, Brian E. Small Editorial Consultant Lee Mergner Graphic Designer Jaron Cote Operations Director Cheyen
BirdWatching2 min read
Conservationists Say Feds Plan To Downlist Whooping Crane
Conservationists alleged in mid-December 2021 that the Biden administration is planning to weaken protections for iconic endangered species, including the Whooping Crane. The claim is that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to downlist the cran
BirdWatching2 min read
Protected Area To Benefit Rare Tanager
A partnership among Rainforest Trust, American Bird Conservancy (ABC), and Brazilian conservation organization Instituto Marcos Daniel has established a 704-acre protected area of primary Brazilian Atlantic Forest — the latest success in the organiza
BirdWatching2 min read
A New Push To Find Lost Birds
American Bird Conservancy, Re:wild, and BirdLife International recently launched a “Search for Lost Birds” initiative geared to finding new information about some of the world’s rarest birds. The initiative focuses on supporting searches for bird spe
BirdWatching1 min read
How Bird, Mammal Declines Threaten Plants
In one of the first studies of its kind, researchers have gauged how biodiversity loss of birds and mammals will impact plants’ chances of adapting to human-induced climate warming. More than half of plant species rely on animals to disperse their se
BirdWatching1 min read
Museum Celebrates Birds
The University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum opened an exhibition in late January that integrates art, science, and nature to ignite curiosity and wonder about the beauty and biology of birds, engaging visitors in an exploration of birds, their environm
BirdWatching3 min read
Your Letters
Editor’s note: Our article about the Harpy Eagle in the November/December 2021 issue mentioned that in 1961, Jim Fowler, the late TV presenter and falconer, brought a pair of Harpies on the set of the Today show, and the birds were later featured in
BirdWatching3 min read
On The Wire
By Danielle J. Whittaker, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022, hardcover, 296 pages, $27.95. Danielle Whittaker heads the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action at Michigan State University. As a young evolutionary biologist, she was irk
BirdWatching2 min read
Out-of-range Gift
ON NOVEMBER 6, 2021, I learned that a female hummingbird belonging to the genus Selasphorus — either an Allen’s or, much more likely, a Rufous — had been coming to a feeder down my block in Duluth, Minnesota. The next morning, a neighbor and I set ou
BirdWatching4 min read
Saving Birds Is Job #1
RECENT REVELATIONS REGARDING catastrophic bird declines have left many birders feeling despondent and hopeless. While large-scale initiatives will be needed to address the challenge, here are a few things that you as an individual can do to stem the
BirdWatching9 min read
Buyers guide To spotting scopes
Without binoculars, we would miss so many birds, even in our own yards. With experience, a good binocular will let you identify most birds visible to the naked eye. Some think “bins” are all you need and consider a spotting scope unnecessary. That is
BirdWatching10 min read
Are You As Smart As A chickadee?
Her voice hushed, barely a whisper, a female Mountain Chickadee is calling inside the cavity in a weathered gray snag. From a nearby pine, her mate sings to her. He, too, is scarcely audible. The female pops into view at the entrance to the cavity. H
BirdWatching5 min read
BIRDING FESTIVALS On Tap
Like virtually all other large gatherings of people, birding festivals were forced to cancel in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of them held virtual events later in 2020 and in 2021. This year, most festivals are planning in-person ev
BirdWatching8 min read
The Romeo Error
When Romeo viewed his beloved Juliet seemingly deceased, his mistaken belief about her death led to dreadful outcomes. Out of grief, Romeo hastily consumed a vial of lethal poison. After Juliet awoke to realize Romeo’s error, she, too, took her own l
BirdWatching3 min read
In Memory Of lost Birds
In September 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed to remove 23 species from Endangered Species Act protection due to their likely extinction. The list includes 11 bird species, eight species of Southeastern freshwater mussels, two
BirdWatching6 min read
Ivory-bills In the 21st Century
Mainstream media stories and some other resources about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker often cite 1944 as the year of the last widely accepted sighting of the species. That was the year artist Donald Eckelberry observed a female Ivory-bill in the Singer
BirdWatching6 min read
ID TIPS: Pectoral Sandpiper
April in Galveston County, Texas THE NAME “SANDPIPER” is a poor fit for most members of the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae. A few species, such as Sanderling and Red Knot, show a preference for sandy shores, but the majority are “mudpipers,” seeking
BirdWatching1 min read
Family Matters
When it comes to reproduction and raising young, in most bird species, males take the lead in courtship, and females do the majority of the work of incubation and tending to the offspring. There are many variations on this pattern, however, and some
BirdWatching2 min read
Variability In Songbirds
BIRDS ARE VARIABLE, but they don’t have to be confusing. Learning the broader patterns of variation is one of the fundamentals of bird identification and one of the keys to understanding them. As a rule, immatures are more variable in their appearanc
BirdWatching4 min read
Breeding Season Bonanza
THE BREEDING SEASON for waterfowl provides wonderful opportunities for action shots of ducks, geese, and swans, depending on where you live and what species nest near you. One of my most memorable experiences with breeding waterfowl took place one ye
BirdWatching3 min read
Hotspots Near You
TONTO NATIONAL FOREST, ARIZONA 33°32’49.95"N 111°38’46.61"W Coon Bluff, the third of nine designated fee sites on the 13-mile stretch of the Lower Salt River Recreation Area, is the best general birding site in the stretch. It is within easy reach fo
BirdWatching1 min read
Your View
Submit photos as full-resolution, high-quality JPG files via email (no TIFFs, please). Include a short description of the photo; include the bird name, the equipment used, and the location. Please include your name, address, phone number, and email a
BirdWatching1 min read
Final Frame
Photographer Brian E. Small took this image of an adult Lewis’s Woodpecker chasing an insect in November 2021 in the Santa Monica Mountains in Southern California. Brian says it was a very good winter for the species throughout the region, and the si
BirdWatching2 min read
Crows Recognize The Value Of Better Tools
New Caledonian Crows are renowned for using different types of tools for extracting prey from tree holes and other hiding places. While they firmly hold their tools in the bill during foraging, they need to put them down to eat. This is when crows ar

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