Nature is a positive in my life with all the good feelings it inspires: comfort, joy, solace, awe. But sometimes I find it hard to feel hopeful about ...
Angry Birder
This innocent, awkwardly cute, baby bird made me angry this week. For several days it cried loudly and incessantly from the dogwood tree outside ...
Splashes of Spring Color
Scarlet, Ruby, Indigo, Rose—the birds visiting our yard this past month have brought splashes of color—and song—to spring. With migration underway, ...
Backyard Birds of Winter
It’s spring and I've noticed new birds daily in the yard—Song Sparrows in the brush pile, Grackles swarming the feeder, House Finches hanging with the ...
It Was Rare, I Was There: The Yellow-eyed Penguin
Last September, above a small, rocky beach in southern New Zealand, I saw what may be the rarest, most endangered penguin in the world: the ...
Opportunistic Birding
If I'm a birder, I'm an opportunistic birder. I rarely travel specifically to look for birds (see Steller's for the exception). However, I will look ...
Migration: A Flight for Survival
Migration. Generally, when I think of bird migration, I envision a neat line connecting, say, South America with North America, specifically Maine. ...
Bird of the Century: New Zealand’s Mullet-Headed Pūteketeke
I know that bird! Oh wait, it's John Oliver. The other day this appeared in my newsfeed: "With a boost from John Oliver, pūteketeke soars ...
Fogg Island Preserve: A Quiet and Understated Walk in the Woods
I think you begin knowing a place only after you've visited it multiple times, and ideally across seasons. So, when our local land trust, 7 Lakes ...
Backyards and Birds Need Bugs, Lots of Bugs
Dragonflies, spiders, beetles, grasshoppers, arthropods. Bluebirds eat a lot of insects, especially growing baby birds. We occasionally have ...