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How to Know the Birds: No. 16, Calliope Futures

What: Calliope Hummingbird, Selasphorus calliope When: Friday, August 30, 2019 Where: Steamboat Springs, Routt County, Colorado

On a not-exactly-a-bird-walk a week or so ago, one of the participants, Roberta, was intent on documenting whatever it is that was happening in the general vicinity of a pot full of patriotic petunias:

Not all [read more…]

Birding Photo Quiz: August 2019

Adult male orioles in breeding plumage are a thing of beauty. And a cinch to identify. You’re in Pennsylvania, say, and it’s May. An Orchard Oriole flies by, or a Baltimore Oriole is singing from the treetops. Easy peasy. The females and second-summer males of those species are more subtly marked, but, still, Orchard vs. [read more…]

How to Know the Birds: No. 15, The Incomparable Coolness and Supreme Glory of Roadrunners

What: Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus When: Friday, August 23, 2019 Where: Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico

You could make the case that I shouldn’t have gone birding that Friday morning. I had a meeting to attend and a presentation to prep for; I had a crushing load of deadlines in the week ahead; and [read more…]

How to Know the Birds: No. 14, Q. T. with a Great Blue

What: Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias When: Saturday, August 3, 2019 Where: Hecla Pond, Boulder County, Colorado

I went out the other evening seeking novelty and adventure. I didn’t know what I would find, but I knew it was to be had out there. That’s because novelty and adventure, when you pause to think [read more…]

How to Know the Birds: No. 13, Gannets—Take 2

What: Northern Gannet, Morus bassanus When: Tuesday, July 16, 2019 Where: Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, Avalon Peninsula–St. John’s County, Newfoundland and Labrador

I’ve been seeing northern gannets, Morus bassanus, for well over 30 years. But I’m going to make the case now that I’d never truly experienced the gannet until I visited the [read more…]

Would You Count It If . . . ?

A week ago, Jason Ward and I were on a boat trip out of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Birds were our objective, needless to say, but we were well pleased with our haul of cetaceans—including a particularly photogenic humpback whale. In reviewing his images of the whale, Jason came across this photo:

[read more…]

How to Know the Birds: No. 12, Merganser Musings

What: Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus When: Monday, July 8, 2019 Where: Hecla Pond, Boulder County, Colorado

The adult male, or “drake,” hooded merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus, has got to be just about the most ridiculously photogenic bird in the ABA Area. No matter how often I see one—the species has been expanding its range and [read more…]

How to Know the Birds: No. 11, Beware Expectation

What: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula When: Sunday, June 16, 2019 Where: Keystone Gorge, San Miguel County, Colorado

I was leading a field trip a couple weeks ago, and our group came across this bird:

Telluride, San Miguel County, Colorado; June 16, 2019. Photo by © Ted Floyd.

One of the trip participants [read more…]

How to Know the Birds: No. 10, Dvořák’s Vireo

What: Red-eyed Vireo, Vireo olivaceus When: Thursday, June 6, 2019 Where: Table Mesa Marsh, Boulder County, Colorado

You might have heard of Mozart’s starling. Lyanda Lynn Haupt recently wrote a book, Mozart’s Starling, that’s received a fair bit of acclaim. The short version of the story goes like this: Back in 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus [read more…]

Birding Photo Quiz: June 2019

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Don’t blurt out the answer! Pretend you’ve never seen the species of bird in this photo. Or [read more…]