Corn Crake Photo Image – The Guardian Newspaper I don’t remember where I saw my first Corn Crake, but I recorded its sighting in my early 1960s bird log. It was likely seen or heard in a hayfield somewhere in Yorkshire, England. Its absence …
Nuthatch takes a drink Photo Credit – Author Recently, I have enjoyed Nuthatches visiting my bird feeder and bird bath. Sometimes they are Pygmy Nuthatches; occasionally, they are the Red-breasted type, but so far, none have been White-breasted Nuthatches. These three varieties are native …
North American Bittern, Petaluma, CA May 2025 Photo Credit – Author The first North American Bittern I ever saw was a few weeks ago at Shollenberger Park in Petaluma. This solitary bird was stealthily hunting its prey. It stood motionless alongside the tall …
Eurasian Magpie Photo Credit – iNaturalist There are three well-known species of black-and-white Magpie: the Eurasian Magpie found across Europe and Asia, the Black-billed Magpie of western North America, and the Yellow-billed Magpie, which substitutes for the Black-billed Magpie in California’s Central Valley. …
Feathers in Fashion, Easter Parade 1911 New York City Photo Credit – Library of Congress At the turn of the nineteenth century, in North America and Britain, birds were hunted for sport and food, and their feathers used for fashion. Ornithologists killed birds …
Half Moon Bay, CA Photo Credit – Author Parasitic Jaeger Photo Credit – eBird I’m sure they were Skuas, but I could not identify the species. They were close to the shore in Half Moon Bay, northern California. My Bird Book identified …
European Ring Ouzel, male Photo Credit – Birdfact European Ring Ouzel, female Photo Credit – Flickr The Ring Ouzel, a member of the Thrush family, is only seen if visiting or living in Europe. There is no reference to the appearance …
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 …
