author and lifelong birder
American Pipit Photo Credit – American Bird Conservancy There are about 40 pipit-named species worldwide, with the word “pipit” derived from the Meadow Pipit’s call “pi-pit.” Pipits are small, slender, drab-looking, streaky-brown birds with forenames often identifying their habitat, location, or coloring—such as …
Woodpecker that does not drill holes, Northern Flicker males (red-shafted /yellow-shafted) Photo Credit – Cornell Lab. of Ornithology The Northern Flicker (a species in the Woodpecker family) is on my golf course for the winter. Several birds recently flew low alongside the eighth …
Sabine’s Gull Photo Credit – eBird On a recent pelagic birding cruise out of Ventura, CA., I spotted my first Sabine’s Gull, a small, delicate seagull Sir Edward Sabine first described in 1818. Unlike most seagulls, these are readily identified but rarely seen because they …
Great Blue Heron Nests Photo Credit – Louisa Cammidge The above photo arrived a few days ago with the question, “To whom do these nests belong?” The location is Puget Sound on the northwest coast of the US state of Washington. The answer is …
Lesser Goldfinch at my Tube Feeder Photo Credit – Author It has been a fascinating two years living in northern California, close to the Pacific Coast, observing the etiquette of birds that visit my bird feeders. Each specific species has a distinct bird …
Black Phoebe Photo Credit – Cornell Lab of Ornithology Phoebes are smallish (6 inches/16 cm), insect-eating, perching songbirds native to the Americas. Black Phoebe – United States, Mexico, Central America, parts of South America Eastern Phoebe – Eastern North America Say’s Phoebe – …
Mistle Thrush Photo Credit – British Trust for Ornithology This month, I am focusing on a bird I observed during my childhood in northern England: the Mistle Thrush. In the late 1950s, my ornithological colleagues at Bootham School reported that the Mistle Thrush was …
Barn Swallow Photo Credit – Birds and Blooms Magazine My local Barn Swallows have arrived and have been constructing mud nests and feeding their offspring under the roof eaves of houses along the Corte Madera Creek near San Francisco. These avians make an …
Cory’s Shearwater off the coast of Madeira, Portugal Photo Credit – Author Cory’s Shearwater is a large, heavy bird and a member of the seabird family Procelleridae. It breeds primarily in the Portuguese islands of the Azores and Madeira and the Canary Islands, Spain. …
Northern Mockingbird Photo Credit – the Author Amidst a cacophony of mid-morning birdsong, a medium-sized bird, approximately 10 inches (25 cm) in length, caught my eye. Its tail, as long as its body, was a striking feature. The bird’s plumage was a mix of …
Greater Scaup (male with the white plumage) Photo Credit – Cornell Lab: All About Birds California winter visitors, the Greater Scaup, have recently left the coastal creek near my home and returned to their breeding grounds along the West Coast up to Alaska. Previously, …
Eurasian or Common Kestrel: Photo Credit – Wikipedia American Kestrel Photo Credit – Cornell Lab of Ornithology Thank you, Sonoma Land Trust, for connecting me with the beautiful American Kestrel, the smallest raptor in North America, during a recent visit to the Sonoma …
Humming-bird Hawk-moth Photo Credit – Graeham Mounteney, Butterfly Conservation Hummingbirds are small, often migratory birds that inhabit the Americas. They have compact bodies, long, narrow beaks, and relatively long blade-like wings. The latter allows them to fly in every direction and to hover. Typically, …
Belted Kingfisher Photo Credit – I-naturalist (Birds of San Diego County) I usually hear the Belted Kingfisher rather than see one when walking alongside the Corte Madera Creek near San Francisco. Occasionally, you might observe one perched above the water or hovering on rapidly …
Eurasian Collared Doves Photo Credit – Cornell Lab of Ornithology Recently, I was walking alongside my local creek-side in Northern California when I heard the purring sound of goo-Goo-goo, and strove to find out what it was. I discovered a pair of Eurasian Collared …