Category: Birds
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Morning song
One of the surest signs of spring is the new birdsong that we hear in the morning. Like lilting lifting music it pulls out of bed and on to the patio with a cup of hot coffee. Close eyes and listen. Warblers, vireos, finches… For a prairie boy though it is the warbling song of…
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Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens
Look closely! See that bright red spot on the bill. That is known as a breeding spot. It appears on sexually mature and active male and female Glaucous-winged Gulls at this time of year. (Ain’t that a ten pound name for a gray wing?) The breeding spot really has not much to do with breeding.…
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Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani)
Is it a bird, is it a plane or is it something else? From the initial description I said it was probably a merganser but something didn’t add up. And the description “like a crow with a flaming orange bill” was a dead giveaway. They are moving from the shorelines to the offshore islands for…
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Varied Thrush – Ixoreus naevius
BirdWeb – Varied Thrush So we all know that what we know as the Robin is really the American Thrush? After our wild snowstorm (November 26, 2006)we set up our regular winter feeding station. And we watched the regular winter visitors – juncos – chickadees and such. And so when the red breasted bird showed…
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Balancing Business and Ecology…
ScienceDaily: Mixing Exploitation And Conservation: A Recipe For Disaster Near and dear to my heart are those stories and studies that look at finding the balance between human survival – business and the ecosystem in which they exist. This study was done in Holland with an exquisitely ecosystem adapted bird. The red knot is a…