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The Hawkwatch season in the U.S. is starting to wind down. The Corpus Christi, TX hawk watch has recorded 30 raptor species and over 500,000 individuals. The champion hawk watch site is at Veracruz, Mexico, where single day accounts can exceed over 350,000 Broad-winged Hawks in a single day.
The large Brown Jay was once somewhat regular along the lower Rio Grande River in far south Texas. Never common, the rare visitor seems to have retreated back across the Rio Grand and has become a Texas review species. Several years ago I shot this short video of Brown Jays feeding on orange halves and marshmallows […]
As more ducks are starting to show up in their winter homes it is a good time to review duck and waterfowl identification. The Birdzilla.com web site has an excellent section on Waterfowl Identification.
What causes a bird to start migration? The Germans call it “zugunruhe” or migratory restlessness. There are several factors that influence the beginning of migration, including the amount of daylight. How birds find their way is a trickier manner. A researcher at Cornell University used Indigo Buntings to study the migration urge and migration […]
A world apart, the toucan and the hornbill have an amazingly similar approach to feeding, designed to accommodate their large bills. One often seen feeding on the ground, an another favoring the trees.
The new “Dick Stamps” are now available for purchase. Duck stamps are used for habitat conservation and enrichment and benefit wildlife of many kinds. Scot Storm, a native of Freeport, Minnesota, was selected as the winning artist of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest, and 16-year-old Nicole Jeon of Scarsdale, New York, was selected as the […]
Continue reading about 2019-2020 Federal Duck Stamp now available
The end of July marks the start of a two week experience to the Pantanal region of Brazil. This is not a dedicated birding trip as I will be traveling with non-birders, my brother Mark, and brother-in-law Roger. We have hired Fisher Sousa of Wildlife Pantanal Tours to be our guide for the 10 days […]
This spotting scope features the Dual-Speed Focus system, allowing the user to move between near objects and long-range targets quickly, while enjoying the benefits of fine focusing and sharpness correction. A notable innovation of the Victory® Harpia is the relocation of the magnification ring from the eyepiece to the spotting scope body, alongside the focus […]
Continue reading about Zeiss’s Newest Spotting Scope, the Victory Harpia 95
Birds can fly because they have low weight and lots of power. Their feathers, wings, hollow bones, warm bloodedness, powerful breast muscles, and a strong heart all contribute to this ability. Last week, we discussed body weight and feathers. This week we cover: Strong Body SystemsThe avian repertory system includes a unique system of five […]
The woodcock is a strange little “shorebird” of moist woodlands. Here is how it is described in the Bent Life History series. “This mysterious hermit of the alders, this recluse of the boggy thickets, this wood nymph of crepuscular habits is a common bird and well distributed in our Eastern States, widely known, but not […]
Continue reading about The American Woodcock, as described by the Bent Life History series.