The American Pipit is a welcome winter visitor to our parks and open spaces with wide expanses of grassy scrubland. This diminutive songbird breeds in the most northerly arctic tundras and lofty arid mountain tops. Pipits then escape that increasingly frozen terrain in the fall, descending in noisy flocks to safely overwinter in our far [...]
Bright sunny skies, warming temps of 61-70 degrees with an abundance of bird song for mate attraction and territory defense. Pair bonding behavior and nest building activity observed [...]
Bright sunny skies, chilly to warming temps of 55-76 degrees with an abundance of bird song, calls, and feeding activity all around us. A sense of rapidly approaching spring breeding activity was evident by signs of courtship behavior and birdsong.James Kendall (scope&camera), Brian Bleecker (scope&camera), Tonya Fannon (camera), Jim Currie (camera), Ann Marshall (camera), Cassandra [...]
The Merlin is a small, powerfully built falcon known for its incredible speed, agility, and fierce hunting prowess. A fearsome hunter, this bird of prey specializes in rapid aerial ambushes of smaller birds. Historically, in medieval Europe they were used in falconry, being particularly favored by noblewomen for hunting skylarks, earning them the nickname “lady [...]
The ripening of red winter native Toyon berries coincides with the arrival of large flocks of these dazzling beauties. The elegant Cedar Waxwing sports a black mask and sleek pointed crest plus silky beige plumage tipped in waxy red and yellow. Listen for the high-pitched, trilled whistle as dozens descend from the treetops to feast [...]
