This is the time of year when I typically write my Thanksgiving column on wild turkeys. This year, however, instead of sharing facts about wild turkeys, I’m going to do something a little different.
I got to thinking about what other birds are associated with Thanksgiving. I couldn’t think of any off the top of my head because the turkey completely dominates the modern Thanksgiving holiday. Instead of giving up, I turned to the internet, and, as usual, it didn’t disappoint.
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There are certain birds I have unusually good luck finding, and there are those that I have unusually bad luck finding.
Waterfowl, especially hooded and common mergansers, seem to show up everywhere I go from late fall through early spring. Baltimore orioles may as well be my spirit bird for as often as I see them in the spring and summer. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are supposed to be “uncommon” where I live in New England, but that doesn’t stop me from finding them frequently.
Owls, on the other hand, have proven to be exceedingly elusive over the years. Sure, owls aren’t an everyday occurrence, but for the amount of time I spend outdoors, you’d think I would stumble upon one more often than I do, which is almost never.
Continue readingHere are some photos of house finches and purple finches, for comparison.
Males
Something looked a little off at the birdfeeders. I get more house finches at my feeders than I can count, but as I entered the living room and glanced out the window, the five brown birds eating seeds didn’t look like the birds I have become so accustomed to seeing.
Nor did they look like house sparrows, another brown bird I have become all too accustomed to seeing at the feeders.
Continue readingHere’s another shot of the female downy woodpecker looking for food by tearing apart a dormant wasp’s nest.
As birdwatchers, we are trained to look for things out of the ordinary. That blot in a tree or movement in the brush just may be a bird. Often the thing that grabs your attention is nothing but a discarded balloon or wind-swept plastic bag, but very often it is, indeed, a bird.
Autumn can be tricky with falling leaves capturing our attention and tricking us into thinking birds are near. The other day, a different sort of falling object caught my attention. While it wasn’t a bird, it did lead me to an interesting bird sighting.
I was walking on a trail when something about the size of a leaf floated down in front of me. It somewhat resembled a leaf but was shaped and colored differently. It even floated down from the trees with a different kind of motion.
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A black-capped chickadee perches in a burning bush in New England, November 2024.
You can’t beat New England for scenes like this one.
In the spirit of Halloween and everything pumpkin spice season, here is a column about the scary side of birds.
I’m not going to sensationalize or fear monger, and I’ll try not to be too corny either, but there are times when birds can be a little unnerving. This being a column based in New England, I’ll also try to keep it to the birds of this region, so there will be no horror stories of shoebills or cassowaries. (Those two species invariably come up when you do an Internet search for “scary birds.”)
One of the more unnerving experiences a birder in New England can experience is being hissed at and chased by a Canada goose. From a distance Canada geese look peaceful enough and even quite beautiful and regal depending on the habitat. Get too close to one, however, and they are large, formidable birds that can be quite fearless and intimidating.
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There are trade-offs with everything in life.
When I lived in my house in the woods years ago, the action at the birdfeeder was nonstop with great birds. I never saw a single house sparrow, starling, or pigeon the entire time I lived there.
On the other hand, it took 20 minutes to drive to the nearest grocery store or restaurant. Nothing except a few trails through the woods, a small lake and a pond were within walking distance. That suited me just fine when I wanted to look for birds or simply take a nice peaceful walk, which was often. It didn’t do me much good when I needed food, however.
Now that I live close to a downtown area of a small town, I can walk to the grocery store, restaurants, and just about anything else I need. The flip side, of course, is that the action at the birdfeeder is not as robust. It is not void of birds by any stretch, but house sparrows and starlings are the most frequent visitors, sometimes converging on the feeders in great numbers.
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Last fall, I watched and attempted in vain to photograph several little birds fitting among low-lying bushes at a particular spot in the woods.
Eventually, I was able to get a good look at one and identify them as golden-crowned kinglets. Fitful for kinglets, they moved constantly. They sat still for only a second or two as they moved from one branch to the next. Most of the time, they remained concealed by leaves.
The other day, I walked by that same exact patch in the woods and noticed two small birds flitting among the bushes. My instinct was to move on without getting a better look, as I assumed they were golden-crowned kinglets that wouldn’t let me photograph them anyway.
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Birds of New England.com 