Swallows have mastered the art of hunting for bugs while flying, and cliff swallows are no exception to this. Their quick maneuvers, small build, and agility make them incredible insect hunters. They mostly feed on swarms of insects, and they even have a special call to let other swallows know when there is a really… Read more Cliff Swallows Adaptation
Woodpeckers are a wonderful type of bird and their unique black and white patterns and pops of red make them stand out in the bird world. This blog post is a compilation of woodpeckers that I find interesting and a little bit about them. Pileated Woodpecker I never would want to chose favorites, and with… Read more Woodpeckers: Pileated, Red-Headed, and Acorn
I hope you laughed at this birds name. The American Woodcock’s name is BY FAR not the funniest thing about it. Buckle in because you are about to be blown away by this bird. First, I want to point out how American Woodcocks are built. They look like when Medieval artists tried to draw cats… Read more The American Woodcock
TW: graphic descriptions of hunting Shrikes are one of the most unique cases of a bird of prey. They are not raptors or hawks or eagles… they are songbirds. The fact they are classified as songbirds may seem odd because of their hooked beaks, which are very similar to birds of prey like raptors and hawks,… Read more Shrikes – Little Monsters
Swifts are a pretty interesting type of bird because they are super efficient except for one thing – they can’t really land. That does sound like a major design flaw, but they have survived natural selection for years so it can’t be that detrimental. Because of their inability to land on flat ground, they are… Read more Swifts – Can’t Sit Still!
The best thing about birding is that it requires no monetary investment. The only thing you need to invest is time. You might be asking yourself if birding requires no money, then why do I see birdwatchers wearing expensive binoculars and cameras? Yes, oftentimes birders do have a lot of equipment, but it isn’t necessary to… Read more Birding Equipment – Binoculars, Spotting Scopes, Cameras and More
One of the most extraordinary things about modern birdwatching is ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE! New apps like Merlin (and iNaturalist) have popped up recently that are able to make some awesome identifications from audio recordings and pictures. It is interesting to see how birding communities have changed and developed from these new technologies. For one, these apps… Read more Bird Identification Apps – Merlin
Kinglets are so extraordinary and captivating; their genus name means “tiny king“, and even though they may be small, in my opinion, they are the kings of winter. Whenever I see kinglets start to migrate back to my area, I know that winter is coming. They fly back from their summer home in Canada to… Read more Kinglets – The Tiny Kings of Winter
Shorebirds (shorbs for short) are the most complicated type of bird to identify for me. And that is not something that I say lightly… they truly are super difficult. It is also easy to become discouraged because it can take a while to learn to differentiate the most basic shorebirds. These little guys may seem… Read more Shorbs – a love hate relationship
One of the most shocking things about birdwatching wasn’t the birds, the culture, or the media… It was the Amish. Does this surprise you? It surprised me too, but it is true! A good portion of the bird-watching population in the US is the Amish! When you think about it, it does make a lot… Read more The Amish – Best Birdwatchers