GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER: BIRD BUILT FOR THE TREETOPS
Tag: OLYMPUS M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 150-400MM F4.5 TC1.25X IS PRO
NORTHERN PARULA: GEMSTONE WITH WINGS
CEDAR WAXWINGS: MASKED BANDITS & SPEED DEMONS
BIOMIMICRY: NATURE INSPIRED DESIGN AND ENGINEERING
Biomimicry: Learning from and emulating nature’s forms, processes, and ecosystems to create solutions for problems in the human-made world. There are many examples of biomimicry in practice, e.g., sharkskin and antifouling ship hulls, termite mounds and efficient building ventilation, humpback whale fins and low drag wind turbine blades, burdock plant burrs and Velcro, ,,, the […]
Read MoreBLACKPOLL WARBLERS: LONG DISTANCE MIGRANT ALLSTARS
LEAVE MORE THAN LEAVES IN YOUR YARD, LEAVE STUMPS AND SNAGS TOO
It is not a coincidence that the birds featured in this post are on a rotting stump in our yard. We leave stumps & snags – when safe – for the very reasons tree removal companies tell us not to: To attract ‘pests’. Pests like the wasps, beetles, spiders, ants and caterpillars that live in […]
Read MoreEASTERN TOWHEE: SONGBIRD CASUALTY
Eastern Towhees are sparrows and an exception to the sparrow look of ‘Little Brown Jobs’. Eastern Towhees and Spotted Towhees of the western North America were considered one species, Rufous-sided Towhee, until 1995. Famous for their “drink-your-tea” song, a group of towhees are called a “teapot”. Common and frequently heard across their range, but not […]
Read MoreMIGRANT BIRDS CLIMATE CHANGE INDUCED PHENOLOGY MISMATCH: AND YOU THOUGHT LEAPING AHEAD ONE HOUR WAS A PAIN IN THE WATCH
Try being a bird. Want more pain? Try being a migrant bird. On their highly evolved natural calendars, spring, as measured by the First Leaf and First Bloom Indices is leaping forward not by hours but by days or even weeks. Our spring insect emergence, a natural event that migrant birds rely on, started in […]
Read MoreTRI-COLORED HERON FEEDING DANCE
Herons, like Great Blue, Green, Night, Little, are known for their slow and deliberate hunting and fishing styles. Then there are the Tri-colored Herons. Tri-colored Herons frenetically ‘dance’ when fishing. Their signature first move is the Canopy. They form a canopy by spreading their wings to create a large shadow on the water’s surface. When […]
Read MoreCEDAR WAXWINGS ARE MORE THAN BERRY GLUTTONS
Cedar Waxwings are notorious fruit and berry eaters. Zoologists consider them among the most frugivorous birds – a bird that thrives mostly on fruit and fruit-like produce of plants – in North America. Even their name is a reference to their frugivorous diets, they especially love cedar berries. In the fall large flocks can descend […]
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