For the Birds: House wren becomes northern house wren

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak
A house wren perches on a branch in New England.

My brother and I were on our favorite birding trail in my old hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, when one of those fantastic bird flurries happened.

It was mid-May and the flurry consisted of four or five types of warblers, two brown thrashers, a blue-gray gnatcatcher, Baltimore orioles, a house wren and a few other species. When the flurry died down and I entered the species into my eBird report, I noticed something that struck me as odd.

When I entered house wren, the only option that came up was northern house wren. What the heck is that? I thought. I assumed that was the species I’ve always known as house wren, but I still wondered where the “northern” came from.

A quick internet search confirmed that the new official name for the house wren species that occurs in the U.S. is northern house wren. The southern house wren, formerly considered the same species as the northern, lives south of the U.S. and there are also five separate Caribbean endemic species. The split and name changes happened in 2024. Somehow, I missed the memo until now.

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Brown thrashers never fail to stir excitement

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak Brown thrashers at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., May 2025.

Brown thrashers are one of my favorite birds. I think I’ve now said that about 88 birds or more. But, really, brown thrashers are one of those birds that make me stop in my tracks every time I see one. In this case, I saw two. Thrashers are usually quite timid and do not allow for a close approach. I didn’t even try to get closer to these birds because I knew what the result would be. So, I let my zoom lens do the work from a distance that would not disturb the birds.

Below are a few shots of just one thrasher. (Just the name itself is awesome.)

Photo by Chris Bosak Brown thrasher at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., May 2025.

A few bonus rose-breasted grosbeak photos

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak A rose-breasted grosbeak perches in a dogwood tree, New England, spring 2025.

Yesterday, I used a photo of a rose-breasted grosbeak for my Singing in the Spring series. Today, I’m including a few bonus shots of a male rose-breasted grosbeak. You gotta love spring migration.

Photo by Chris Bosak Rose-breasted grosbeak, New England, spring 2025.

Canada goose profile pic

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak Canada goose in New England.

Here’s an interesting shot I took of a Canada goose the other day. I used the vignette feature to make the goose stand out more.

For the Birds: Good and bad news in latest State of the Birds Report

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Chris Bosak

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and other bird conservation organizations released the 2025 U.S. State of the Birds Report last week. Not surprisingly, the news was rather somber and highlighted alarming decreases in bird populations over the last 50 years.

It largely echoes the 2019 study that showed the loss of three billion birds in North America since 1970. Unfortunately, the news has gotten worse for many birds in the five years since that landmark study.

Rather than recapping the press release here, I wanted to point out some of the figures that jumped out at me personally. The full news release may be found online by searching for “2025 U.S. State of the Birds Report” or by visiting birdsofnewengland.com.

Like many studies, there is good news and bad news to be found. This study, sadly, is mostly bad news, but we’ll take a look at both sides.

It’s good news that 489 (68 percent) of the assessed bird species are listed as low concern. That doesn’t necessarily mean that these species are increasing or thriving; in fact, many are declining in number, but they haven’t reached the threshold for priority conservation planning.

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Cedar waxwings eating berries

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak A cedar waxwing eats border privet berries in New England, February 2025.

A walk earlier this week yielded these beauties eating border privet berries. Cedar waxwings are one of my favorites.

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A few icy non-bird photos

Posted on February 18, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak Icy birdbath in New England, February 2025.

I posted the last two days photos of birds following a weekend ice storm. Here are a few shots without birds in them.

Photo by Chris Bosak Ice covers the branches in New England, February 2025.

Backyard birds battle the ice

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak Black-capped chickadee perches on an icy branch, February 2025.

A snowy mix covered much of New England this weekend. It started as snow, then changed to freezing rain, and finally just plain, old rain. The freezing rain formed a hard covering over the snow and sheathed every branch in ice. While walking or driving in these conditions is not advised, it’s always fun to look out the window and see how the birds are handling it. As the photos suggest, they are doing just fine. (Sorry for the grainy photos. Not a whole lot of light to work with.)