Originally introduced to North America in the 1800s, the European starling is a magnificent bird, tawny brown with white spots in winter, shining with iridescent purple and green feathers in summer. Not only are they dazzling, since starlings are also some of the most skilled vocal learners, with the ability to mimic the calls of […]
Tag: Gray Catbird
Migratory Birds Like Native Berries Best
Twice a year, millions of birds embark on long, perilous journeys between their breeding and wintering grounds. These flights, spanning hundreds or thousands of miles, require a lot of energy. In the spring, neotropical migrants travel from Latin America to nest in the Northern Hemisphere, where they take advantage of budding plants and abundant insects. […]
A Bird Sanctuary In Killingworth, CT Pt. III
The transition from one season to the next at the Bird Sanctuary in Killingworth, Connecticut, might be as evident due to changes in the weather as to changes in wildlife seen and its behavior. The calls of peepers are a distant memory as a very infrequent croaking of a frog is heard in the early […]
POLL: Should a “Lights Out” program be enforced to save migratory birds?
Imagine arriving to work and finding nearly 400 dead birds on the ground. That’s precisely what happened at the American National Insurance building in Galveston, Texas, on May 4, 2017. In a single night, hundreds of migrating birds slammed into the side of the skyscraper. All but three found on the ground died. The birds […]
In Search Of South Florida Vagrants
There have been some extraordinary sightings of unexpected bird species these past few months with one in particular that was being reported at the end of February resulting in this report. The Northern Parula above (image 1) was photographed at Long Key State Park in March 2016. Tom Obrock and […]
Meow mix-up
Because the semester was winding down, I wasn’t all that surprised to hear a soft, kittenish mewing coming from the small wedge of remnant wooded habitat between my apartment parking lot and the highway. I used to live in a complex near the Virginia Tech campus and, sadly, it’s common for a new crop of […]
Mead Gardens, 2/13/2013
There was a sure sign that Spring is returning to Central Florida this morning at Mead Gardens–the lovely sound of Northern Parula singing in the Live Oak trees. It’s a very welcome sound, and I found about 5 this morning, though none posed for photographs. A pair of Wood Ducks, however, were just begging to […]