September/October 2022

BirdWatching

Feel the thrill of finding, attracting, and identifying birds

BirdWatching1 min read
More To Read On BirdWatchingDaily.com
The Center for Biological Diversity and Healthy Gulf sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on June 30 for failing to designate critical habitat for the Eastern Black Rail. The rail needs healthy and intact wetland habitat to survive. In July, the N
BirdWatching2 min read
Video Evidence Of Ivory-bill Sighting Released
On October 17, 2020, Bobby Harrison was in a canoe on a southern waterway heading back to his car when a large bird flew in front of him, turned, and then flew down the channel and out of his sight. He says he knew immediately that the bird was an Iv
BirdWatching2 min read
Devoted To Birds
A PAIR OF American Robins have nested at the top of a downspout on the back of my house for the last few summers. (Are they the same birds each time? They’re not banded, so there’s no way to know.) Most of their nests have been preyed upon, probably
BirdWatching2 min read
Chicago Region Critical To Many Bird Species
A 22-year study shows that northeastern Illinois is a stronghold for breeding birds and of global importance for several avian species. Breeding Bird Trends in the Chicago Region 1999-2020 provides an update on the status of more than 100 nesting spe
BirdWatching2 min read
‘Crumb Clean’ For Endangered Seabirds
If you’re camping in a forest 50 miles from the nearest coast, seabirds probably aren’t top of mind. But if you’re in the Pacific Northwest, you might be pitching your tent under the hidden nest of an endangered seabird called a Marbled Murrelet. You
BirdWatching1 min read
Where Are The Grosbeaks?
For decades, birders and ornithologists have lamented lagging sightings of the Evening Grosbeak across its North American range. A study published in June by Oregon State University biologists quantifies the bird’s long decline. In the 1970s, Oregon
BirdWatching1 min read
Tweeting The Climate Crisis
July’s record heat waves and wildfires in Europe and elsewhere inspired these tweets from Peter Kalmus, a NASA climate scientist, and Ben See, a Paris-based climate advocate, who retweeted Mélanie Vogel, an environmentalist in Marseille. We include a
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
BirdWatching4 min read
On The Wire
By Herbert A. Raffaele, 2021, paperback, 264 pages, $16.95. If we’re going to prevent further erosion of our natural systems and the extinctions of more wildlife, humanity will have to adopt a new way of thinking, even a new set of values not unlike
BirdWatching3 min readDiet & Nutrition
The Safe Way To Provide Jelly
OF ALL THE bird-feeding items I write about, none is as controversial as grape jelly. Many people swear by it, especially during oriole migration, but others swear at the very thought of it, saying jelly is unnatural, unhealthy, and addictive. My own
BirdWatching10 min read
All For A Bird
MY rental 4x4 SUV glided down the narrow dirt road and seemed to keep descending even when I put my foot on the brake. I had read the last nine kilometers were rough (why I’d gotten the 4x4), and it felt as if I was going straight down a mountain cli
BirdWatching1 min read
New Meadowlark Species Recognized
Birders have speculated for decades that Eastern Meadowlarks in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico may be a distinct species, and now, it’s official. The North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society h
BirdWatching1 min read
Travel To Costa Rica
Getting there: Direct flights to San Jose (SJO) are available from many major cities in the U.S. Birding tours are common, or you can easily rent a vehicle to bird on your own (4x4s recommended, as many roads are in poor condition). Where I stayed: S
BirdWatching5 min read
Optics Lessons
BINOCULARS AND SPOTTING scopes are fundamental to birding. They have evolved as our hobby has evolved and so, too, has my understanding of their application and limitations. Calling upon my 64 years of experience with optics, I thought I’d share my t
BirdWatching1 min read
Resplendent Quetzal At A Glance
Author and naturalist Alexander Skutch, who wrote more than 40 books and over 200 papers about birds, described the male Resplendent Quetzal as “a supremely lovely bird; the most beautiful, all things considered, that I have ever seen. He owes his be
BirdWatching12 min read
Action heroes
How far would you go to conserve birds? Some scientists and volunteers take it to the extreme, risking bodily harm — whether from cliffs, undertows, frostbite, exhaustion, or armed poachers — and performing feats of athleticism that would make an X-G
BirdWatching7 min read
Seeing the light
OF all the marvels of the living world, few are as astonishing as the annual migrations of birds. The idea that a tiny songbird, weighing less than half an ounce, can travel thousands of miles under its own power year after year is almost too great f
BirdWatching9 min read
RISING to The CHALLENGE
I am sitting in a large room filled with sharply dressed people laughing and talking animatedly. To my left, education outreach experts conduct photo shoots with a dark-morph Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk. Encircling the room, tables loaded with auction i
BirdWatching1 min read
Bird Of Houston
To help raise avian awareness, Houston Audubon coordinated the Bird of Houston contest in 2019. Through a series of brackets, thousands of Houston residents voted on the bird they most wanted to represent their city. Out of 60 species, voters pitted
BirdWatching2 min read
FALL & WINTER BIRDING FESTIVALS!
Yampa Valley Crane FestivalSEPTEMBER 1-4Steamboat Springs, Coloradocoloradocranes.org Hummingbird Migration & Nature CelebrationSEPTEMBER 10-11Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Holly Springs, Mississippistrawberry.audubon.org/hummingbird Audubon Soci
BirdWatching1 min read
Beach And Birds
The 1,146 acres of Houston Audubon’s Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary consist of marshes, uplands, and beaches that provide critical overwintering and breeding habitat for a variety of shorebirds, including vulnerable Piping and Snowy Plovers. One p
BirdWatching5 min read
ID TIPS: Surfbird
1. Short, stout bill with swollen tip, black with yellow at base2. In winter plumage, mostly unmarked dusky gray on chest and upperparts3. No strong head pattern in any plumage4. White belly, variably marked with black5. White rump (often hidden at r
BirdWatching1 min read
A Bird Of The Surf
Only a few bird species have one-word names in English. Some, like the Emu of Australia or the Kagu of New Caledonia, are just unique. Others are common in England and have had simple names applied to them for centuries, like Mallard, Gadwall, Dunlin
BirdWatching3 min read
Hotspots Near You
KIMBLE COUNTY, TEXAS 30°26'44.96"N 99°48'14.65"W I first learned of South Llano River State Park when I heard a birder mention Black-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler in the same sentence. He had seen both of the much-sought species at the park
BirdWatching2 min read
Pattern Recognition
ONE OF THE top bird-identification challenges in North America is the separation of Downy Woodpecker and Hairy Woodpecker. These two species are common almost everywhere, and they are regular visitors to backyard bird feeders, where everyone can see
BirdWatching1 min read
Migratory Birds
Each year on September 11, New York City holds its Tribute in Light memorial in which two beams of light — each with 44 xenon bulbs of 7,000 watts — rise into the night sky, mirroring the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center where nearly 3,000 lives

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