One of a number of amazing Saw Whet Owl photos by Lisa Lovingtree.   What a beautiful animal, and truly mesmerizing photo. Click the image to see others in her Flickr photostream. The Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a miniature owl native to North America. Adults are 18 cm long with a 43 cm wingspan. ...
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Columbus, OH, August 27, 2009 - A former industrial site on the Whittier Peninsula near downtown Columbus is about to be officially reborn as an urban oasis where wildlife can thrive and visitors can connect with nature and the power to protect it. At the heart of this transformation is the Grange...
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An unlikely friendship between a kitten and a crow.  Video from Animal Planet.   Please keep your cats inside.
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The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a member of the Picidae family, and is the largest common woodpecker of the eastern United States. It is found primarily in northeastern US and southern Canada, ranging as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas. Its common habitat is wooded areas, including...
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Many birds use elaborate displays to impress and attract a mate. In this video from David Attenborough and BBC wildlife, some interesting male birds are shown attracting females - including peacocks, pheasants and long-tailed widowbird.
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Pishing is a term for making noises (and they can only be called noises) that mimic the scolding calls of birds. Basically, it's creating the sound of a threatened bird, which in turn draws birds in. Most people I've spoken to have first encountered pishing on a bird watching trip, and generally...
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The state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin, the American Robin is a familiar songbird in the thrush family. They live in towns and woodlands, and are commonly seen on suburban lawns exhibiting their "running and stopping" behavior as they gather their morning worms. The America Robin feeds on different things throughout the day,...
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Mention pollen and you may think allergies, but did you know that our survival actually depends on the stuff. 80% of the world's crop plants depend on pollination. Pollinators are responsible for an estimated 1 out of every 3 mouthfuls of our food. They are essential to the fibers we use, the medicines...
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A very good quality video of a mother hummingbird nesting. The video includes a close up view of her building the nest, the eggs in the nest, mother hummingbird feeding the chicks, preening, the nestlings growing, testing their wings and finally taking their first flight as hummers.
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In an earlier article I shared my favorite locations for bird-watching on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and today I’ll cover additional destinations for bird spotting in the rest of the state. Quabbin Reservoir: Perhaps one of the least known places to watch wildlife in Massachusetts is Quabbin Reservoir. Constructed in 1930’s to quench the expanding thirst...
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If bluebirds visiting your backyard don't seem as "blue" as before, researchers may have found the reason - feather eating bacteria. Birds with brightly colored feathers can carry bacteria which eats their feathers. This affects their health and dull their plumage, according to a BBC Earth Report. Researchers at the Bird Behavior Studies...
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Black-Capped Chickadee Scientific Name: Poecile atricapilla The state bird of Maine and Massachusetts, the Black-Capped Chickadee is a small, common songbird in the Tit family generally found throughout Alaska, Canada and the northern United States.
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When researchers presented crows with a challenge modeled after Aesop’s fable The Crow and the Pitcher, the birds were able to figure out how to raise the water level by dropping stones into the glass - just like in the fable. Amazingly, the crows also selectively chose large pebbles over small ones,...
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House Sparrows are the most abundant songbirds in North America and the most widely distributed birds on the planet. These small, round birds are frequent visitors to suburban backyard bird feeders, and are commonly found in school yards, fast food parking lots, and street corners. Imported from England to North America...
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Gulls are resourceful, inquisitive and highly intelligent birds, demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly developed social structure; for example, many gull colonies display mobbing behavior, attacking and harassing predators, and some show tool use behavior. Gulls have been observed preying on live whales, landing on the whale as it surfaces to peck meat,...
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