Common Redpoll, Acanthis flammea Bill Rowe This article is a “heads up” to keep your eye out for Common Redpolls over the next few weeks. They are the rarest of a trio of little finches that come to our feeders and…
Amy WeeksFebruary 7, 2022
Canvasback, Aythya valisineria Bill Rowe North America’s ducks come in a wide assortment of shapes, colors, and sizes; here in the Midwest, late fall, winter, and early spring are the prime times for enjoying the greatest variety of ducks before most…
Amy WeeksJanuary 24, 2022
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT Job Title: Outreach Specialist Employment: Part-Time, Seasonal (March – December) Pay: $15-$20 per hour Reports to: BCH Program Coordinator The BCH Outreach Specialist will assist with a wide range of community outreach efforts, especially native landscape consultations, volunteer Habitat Advisor…
Amy WeeksJanuary 19, 2022
Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus Bill Rowe The stunningly handsome Red-headed Woodpecker has been a favorite American bird for as long as anyone has kept written records, and no doubt for millennia among indigenous peoples. It is very much a bird of…
Amy WeeksJanuary 17, 2022
Brown Creeper, Certhia americana Bill Rowe If you happen to see what appears to be a mouse on a tree trunk, keep looking: if it’s going up the trunk, spiraling around, and then, as it gets near the top, dropping…
Amy WeeksJanuary 12, 2022
Northern Harrier, Circus hudsonius Bill Rowe Our first bird of the New Year is one of North America’s most widespread raptors, apt to be seen virtually anywhere in open country at one time of year or another—farther north in the breeding…
Amy WeeksJanuary 7, 2022
Varied Thrush, Ixoreus naevius Bill Rowe Check any bird guide, and you’ll see that this handsome robin-like bird nests in western coniferous forests, from Alaska and the Yukon down to coastal Oregon and northernmost California; in winter, it moves farther down…
Amy WeeksJanuary 7, 2022
Common Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula Bill Rowe Common Goldeneyes are handsome ducks that spend their summer nesting in hollow trees by remote lakes in the midst of the boreal forest, i.e., in Canada and Alaska, or, on the other side of the…
Amy WeeksDecember 20, 2021
Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos Bill Rowe The New World family Mimidae—called the “mimids” and including thrashers, catbirds, and mockingbirds—does indeed contain some species that are remarkable for their mimicry, none more famous or versatile than our familiar Northern Mockingbird, which makes…
Amy WeeksDecember 13, 2021
