The "other" Birding Hot Spot Growing up in the suburbs of Boston in the 70’s I had a passion for learning about the natural world, discovering the unexpected. and sharing my enthusiasm for nature with others. With the help of books, magazines and TV, I pictured myself in The Galapagos and the Amazon as [...]
For the un-initiated, "bird watching" conjures up visions of mature ladies with ill-fitting floppy hats and "sensible" shoes, holding opera glasses up to their faces while whistling at what may be actual birds somewhere in that tree. Although that breed of veteran bird watcher does exist, an influx of tech-savvy, energetic and passionate "birders" has [...]
This photo of a Blue Jay, looking cold and miserable while visiting the backyard, was entered in the National Wildlife Federation photo contest and was awarded an "honorable mention" ch_client = "manojt"; ch_width = 300; ch_height = 250; ch_type = "mpu"; ch_sid = "Chitika Default"; ch_alternate_ad_url = "http://www.theunrealuniverse.com/ads/ads1.php?size=300x250&kwds="; ch_color_site_link = "#164675"; ch_color_title = "#164675"; ch_color_border [...]
There's a growing trend in the "not in our backyard" movement that impacts urban and suburban backyard bird-feeding hobbyists alike. In most cases, it's David vs. Goliath, with powerful and unyielding condo associatons ordering the removal of bird feeders from the entire property. Even private landowners can feel under siege by anti-bird feeder activists driven [...]
In the northeast, these two species overlap in their range, visit backyards and backyard feeders and look almost exactly alike. I've put this short video together to point out some behavioral differences that will help you separate these look-a-likes.
