Answering a few questions from readers:

John from Swanzey asked a few weeks ago when it is safe to prune bushes and hedges so as not to disturb any birds that might be nesting there. It’s a great question and one that is not as easily answered as one may think.

Spring and early summer are obviously not good times, as many of our songbirds use this type of habitat for nesting. Robins, doves, blue jays and catbirds immediately come to mind as they are common backyard birds in New England. Many other birds, such as yellow warblers and American redstarts, use shrubby areas for nesting as well, although they tend to use more wild areas rather than backyard bushes.

But what about mid and late summer? It should be safe then, right? Not necessarily.

Just because we see many young robins and other birds hopping around learning the ropes doesn’t mean the nesting season is over. Many of these common birds have second or even third broods that can stretch well into summer. Then there are American goldfinches, which don’t even start their nesting season until the middle of summer.

The nesting season stretches into late summer and early fall in New England, so it’s best to wait until fall to trim the hedges. Then again, that’s when fall migration is underway, and those birds can always use as much protection as possible. So maybe late fall, winter or early spring?

That, of course, is speaking from a bird-centric perspective. I’m not a gardener or landscaper, so checking with a local nursery would be advised to get an answer from the plant’s perspective.

Dave and Tricia from Alstead wrote to say that woodpeckers have been drinking from their hummingbird feeder. What made their email unique is that it wasn’t only downy woodpeckers using the hummingbird feeder, which is fairly common, but a red-bellied woodpecker was drinking from it as well. I haven’t heard of that too often.

Shane from Rhode Island sent in a few photos of birds he encountered on the New England shoreline. He wondered what they were and asked if I could help. It turns out they were American oystercatchers, large shorebirds with distinctive orange bills that nest along the New England shoreline in the spring and summer.

Shane suspected that they were oystercatchers, but the birds in question did not have orange bills. That likely means one of two things. Either the lighting or the angle of the photo was such that the bills appeared dark, or they were first-year birds and had not yet developed their colorful bills. Young oystercatchers, like most shorebirds, grow quickly and are as big as adults in a few months, but their plumage and bills take a little more time to fully develop.

Birding in New England can be divided into two main categories, each with their own delights: inland birding and shore birding. One may consider offshore birding a third category, but let’s just stick to the first two categories for now.

Inland birding is what comes to mind when most people think of birding. That includes most of our common birds and frequently visited habitats, including backyards, woods, fields and inland bodies of water. Inland is where I do the vast majority of my birding, and I love every minute of it.

Visiting the shore opens up a whole new world of birding, however. Whether it’s the shorebirds (big and small), waterfowl that live only along the shore or the herons found mostly along the shoreline, it’s always worth the effort to visit the ocean or Long Island Sound to find something new and different.

We are lucky in New England in that the shore is never too far away. A few hours’ drive and one could be looking at oystercatchers, plovers, sandpipers, eiders or scoters. If it’s been a while since you’ve visited the shore, take the time to check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

For the Birds runs on Mondays in The Sentinel. Chris Bosak may be reached at chrisbosak26@gmail.com or through his website www.birdsofnewengland.com