May 22, 2019
Spring gives a promise of increased bird activity and fresh floral blossoms, but what does it mean when your feathered friends are preying on petals? If you maintain a garden in your yard, there's a reasonable chance that you've noticed birds plucking at your blooms at some point. While this behavior can sometimes be attributed to actual flower-eating, also called florivory, it's possible that those birds tearing at your blossoms are practicing something else entirely.
May 20, 2019
To locate singing birds in your backyard: 1) Listen carefully while turning your head from side to side. This helps your ears help your brain find the general direction of the sound. Cupping your hands behind your ears can help amplify soft or low-volume sounds. 2) Scan the obvious places first: treetops, shrubs, and prominent perches such as wires, bare snags, and roofs. 3) Listen while changing locations. This permits you to do a bit of aural “warmer, warmer, colder” sleuthing. 4) If all else fails, sit quietly, listen, and watch for movement.????: Indigo bunting via Pixabay
May 19, 2019
Painted buntings have two geographically isolated breeding populations. The western population breeds in northern Mexico and in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Alabama. The eastern population breeds along the Atlantic coast from Florida up through Georgia and both Carolinas. Have you seen them?????: Pixabay
May 18, 2019
Don’t expect a jay or hummingbird to use a birdhouse you provide. Only “cavity nesters”—bird species that naturally nest in hollow trees or similar secluded shelters—will select a human-provided nest box.????: Juvenile tree swallow by Benjamin Keen
May 17, 2019
Have you considered renovating your backyard to be more comfortable for birds? WBB contributor Elizabeth Bacher offers 11 ideas to make your property more appealing and safer for your feathered friends.
May 17, 2019
How many feeders do you have up in your yard right now?????: Pileated woodpecker via Pixabay
May 15, 2019
It's baby bird season! You'll often hear such words as chick, juvenile, fledgling, and nestling used to refer to young birds, but they don't all refer to the same stage within a bird's life cycle. It can be confusing to try to figure out which term refers to which stage, and even a few historical ornithological documents have gotten it wrong. However, we've rounded up the correct terms used within traditional ornithology to describe the baby birds you might see this spring.
May 13, 2019
If you have trees, berry-producing vines, or dense shrubbery in your yard, there are probably transient birds like warblers, tanagers, flycatchers, and kinglets foraging there that you might never have seen at your feeders.????: Scarlet tanager by Melissa McMasters
May 8, 2019
Spring warbler watching means calling up information that has been stored, unused in the memory banks, for nearly a year. This article is designed as an exercise to stretch and warm up the mental muscles in preparation for the coming waves. When you have the right mindset, you will be amazed by how quickly you remember.
May 1, 2019
Want to try luring orioles to your feeders? Start out by catching their eye. Tie a brilliant orange ribbon or a bunch of silk flowers to your feeders.
