For the Birds: More traditional gifts for your birder

Photo by Chris Bosak A spotting scope will help birders pick out ducks, like this northern pintail drake.

Last week I offered some suggestions on donating to conservation organizations to help out these important groups during this season of giving. Many of these organizations are hurting this year due to the cancellation of so many revenue-producing programs.

This week, I’ll offer some tips on getting more traditional holiday gifts for your birder. A gift list for birdwatchers has to start with optics. Technically, no equipment is needed to go birdwatching. You can simply head to the woods or look out your window and scan for birds. Realistically, however, you need a few essentials, namely binoculars and a field guide. If you have a budding birdwatcher on your list, an inexpensive pair will likely suffice. More experienced birders will appreciate better-quality optics.

With optics, as with most things, you get what you pay for. A $15 pair of binoculars will serve you just fine, but a $150 pair will seem like a different world. A really great pair of binoculars will set you back hundreds of dollars, but they will last Continue reading

For the Birds: Giving back to nature

Photo by Chris Bosak Monarch, Brookfield, CT, summer 2019.

It’s the season of giving, and this year nonprofit organizations need your support more than ever.

COVID-19 changed everything. Aside from the horrendous physical toll it has taken on so many, businesses have closed and many people are struggling to make ends meet. Nonprofit organizations are not immune to this downturn. Those that specialize in land conservation or nature are just as impacted as the rest of them.

Many of these organizations rely on programming, events, summer camps or other activities that require people to be in close proximity to each other to help pay the bills. COVID put a hard stop on that. As a result, these organizations are out the revenue that these events would have brought in. Many have turned to virtual events, but they don’t have the Continue reading

Happy Thanksgiving from BirdsofNewEngland.com

photo by Chris Bosak
Photo by Chris Bosak

Enjoy your holiday everyone, and stay safe! I’m thankful for all your support of http://www.birdsofnewengland.com

House sparrow video from avibirds.com

I heard from Mark from avibirds.com and he asked if I’d be interested in sharing his video on house sparrows. Of course, I would. It’s a short and informative video on one of our most common and overlooked birds. Check out www.avibirds.com for other videos, photos and bird profiles.

Siskin and others

Photo by Chris Bosak A pine siskin perches on a log in New England, November 2020.

I never did post this photo of a siskin that visited a few weeks ago. It showed up on the same day that the purple finch did. The finch stayed for only about an hour, while this siskin remained for a few days before disappearing. Here’s the story regarding those visits.

Here are a few more recent shots from this fall …

Photo by Chris Bosak A red-bellied woodpecker perches on a log in New England, November 2020.

Continue reading

A few additions to “Bird Books for Sale”

In case you missed the post last week, there is now a collection of bird books for sale on this site. There is only one copy of each book as I’m cleaning house and want the books to go to a good home. I’ve added a few books, including a few field guides that would make a valuable addition to any bird book collection. I’ve searched for each book elsewhere online and lowered the price substantially on each title. Find the page here, or click on “Bird Books for Sale” on the menu at the top of this page.

Need bird books?

As a new feature to http://www.birdsofnewengland.com, I am offering several birding or nature books for sale. They are gently used books that I have enjoyed and want to pass on to a good, nature-loving home, hence the low prices. Prices include cost of shipping. There is only one copy of each book. Once it is purchased, I will delete the listing. Just in time for winter, Christmas and the next round of quarantine.

Some of the prices may seem high, but I took the lowest Amazon price and shaved off several dollars. I believe some of the books are out of print, which is why they are selling for so much.

Click on “Bird books for sale” in the top menu, or click here: https://birdsofnewengland.com/bird-books-for-sale/

For the Birds: Migrating white-breasted nuthatches

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A white-breasted nuthatch perches on a branch in New England, fall 2019.

Have you noticed an exceptional number of white-breasted nuthatches at your feeders this fall? If so, you’re not alone and migration is the likely reason.

We don’t typically think of white-breasted nuthatches as migratory birds. They are reliable backyard feeder birds and year-round residents, just like chickadees and tufted titmice. Do they really migrate?

I’ll get to a recent article that describes the white-breasted nuthatch’s irregular migration Continue reading

Fiesty nuthatch with fiery background

Photo by Chris Bosak A white-breasted nuthatch tries to intimidate a few titmice in New England, October 2020.

Here’s a scary, fall-themed bird photo to kick off your Halloween.

This white-breasted nuthatch was not in a sharing mood with the surrounding tufted titmice. Click here for a recent For the Birds column regarding white-breasted nuthatches and migration.