Bill Rowe Our third annual Birdathon went extremely well. It was organized by teams that would go birding for one or more days during the month of May, sometimes even for the whole month. Those who signed up to go…
Amy WeeksAugust 8, 2020
Mary Dueren Have you been watching birds during the pandemic? Have you been seeing more wildlife? Butterflies and Moths? Did you know that those observations could help scientists? One of the first and oldest citizen science projects is the National…
Amy WeeksAugust 4, 2020
Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus Bill Rowe This bird causes confusion: some call it a "red-headed woodpecker," and it is. But it isn't a Red-headed Woodpecker, capitalized, which is a different species with an entirely red head. The Red-bellied Woodpecker has a…
Amy WeeksAugust 4, 2020
Green Heron, Butorides virescens Bill Rowe For anyone who grew up in the midwestern countryside, summer may evoke the memory of a little Green Heron flying over the fields at sunset from one pond or creek to another—a regular sight nearly…
Amy WeeksAugust 4, 2020
Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus Bill Rowe This year marks a special sesquicentennial: it was in 1870 that North America’s first Eurasian Tree Sparrows were released in Lafayette Park, St. Louis City, as part of an effort by German immigrants to…
Amy WeeksAugust 3, 2020
Great Crested Flycatcher, Myiarchus crinitus Bill Rowe One group that’s important to learn, with thirteen regular species in our area, is the family Tyrannidae, the New-World flycatchers—birds of trim shape and alert posture that capture insects of all types. A good…
Amy WeeksJuly 14, 2020
Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula Bill Rowe The Baltimore Oriole, state bird of Maryland, is the first blackbird to be our Bird of the Week. Wait…what? Yes, that’s right: orioles are in the blackbird family Icteridae, known to birders as icterids.…
Amy WeeksJuly 14, 2020
Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula Bill Rowe The Baltimore Oriole, state bird of Maryland, is the first blackbird to be our Bird of the Week. Wait…what? Yes, that’s right: orioles are in the blackbird family Icteridae, known to birders as icterids. And…
Amy WeeksJuly 7, 2020
Michael Meredith It is one of the most iconic bits of dialogue in the history of motion pictures: Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Benjamin: Yes, sir. Mr. McGuire: Are you listening? Benjamin: Yes, I am. Mr.…
Amy WeeksJuly 1, 2020
