A backyard scene: winds howl, clouds scud, snow accumulates but even in this maelstrom, dark little juncos hop under feeders, flashy red cardinals scratch under a pine tree, a natty nuthatch spirals down a tree trunk and big blue jays muscle in for a meal.
As the season changes, our ‘old reliables’ are moving back to center stage in backyards and at bird feeders.
Birds don’t always order off the regular menu, including a robin who makes his own jelly worms to orioles dining on corn on the cob.
Standing in a large wooden viewing box in the pitch dark on early April morning, a group of us waited for thousands of sandhill cranes to awaken.
Beaks stuffed full of insects to feed their young, most birds have retired their exuberant songs.
These handsome birds are worth a second look as they barrel through each day without any need for assertiveness training.
Mother Nature designed an ingenious package for a young bird’s first few weeks of life.
These “wild canaries” are highly social, spending most of their time feeding, flying and even sleeping as a flock.
Great horned owls begin nesting in late winter, with some even wearing “snow hats” as they sit on their eggs.
This handsome little sparrow—and its ethereal song—often go unnoticed as it drops in for a visit before heading north.
