Artist Sarah Valeri was on her way to an art studio open house in October when she stumbled across a grisly scene. Several trees lining the Brooklyn sidewalk were wrapped in strips of lime-green tape. Stuck to them were dead insects, feathers, and the carcasses of two birds. The horrifying centerpiece was a live Downy […]
Tag: Downy Woodpecker

13 Beautiful Birds to Spot This Spring
Spotting birds can be great fun, particularly when we know which birds we are seeing. There’s something about being able to say, That’s a ______, that makes all the difference. Luckily, several stunning birds are found throughout the United States or, in a pinch, half of the United States. Often, different species will be residents […]

Feature: Sawgrass Lake Park Pt. II
Back at the main parking area at Sawgrass Lake Park Tom Obrock and I chose to follow the birders seen earlier. We would learn that the trees along the entrance to the park had warblers dripping off of them in preceding days. That was not so apparent initially, but waves of warblers did eventually pass […]

Birding By The Sea
Well, this is not actually a post about birding by the sea, but birding by the Long Island Sound at Hammonasset Beach State Park. Images in this post are from a trip to Hammonasset in mid-January when I met world eBirders Julie Hart and Daniel Schlaepfer with four additional visits in February. Julie was kind […]

A Bird Sanctuary In Killingworth, CT Pt. IV
Young birds became a rewarding event at Casa Almeida in Killingworth, Connecticut, in the 2017 summer season. On the eve of the parade to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the naming of the town of Killingworth, CT, flags drape the utility poles around the center of town. Many are at half-mast at municipal buildings […]

A Bird Sanctuary In Killingworth, CT Pt. II
It was fairly quickly learned that the feeders used to attract wildlife didn’t entice just the birds. In mid-winter as the squirrels appeared to become more numerous, they became destructive and a disturbance to the winged creatures. Eastern Bluebirds briefly investigated a pair of bird houses that had been hung for them but the squirrels […]

A Bird Sanctuary In Killingworth, CT Pt. I
The creation of a sanctuary for birds with a few feeders offering a variety of food to sustain them in the winter months was actually an afterthought. The Eastern Bluebird above (image 3) was photographed at Casa Almeida in January 2017. The Brown Creeper above (image 1) was photographed at […]

Where are the birds?
Every year I get several letters like one that came in mid-February from WXPR listener Doug Heise, who lives in Rhinelander and has been feeding birds for 30 years. He wrote about the species he’s fed over the years: “So many different varieties. chickadees, nuthatches, many types of finches, Pine Siskins, Chipping Sparrows, cardinals, Blue […]