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Up In The Cedar
January 8, 2026 Many Robins (Turdus migratorius) along with their flocking buddies, Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum), up in the Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana). They’re enjoying the frosty blue colored berries, which are not really berries at all but seed cones. They usually contain one to three seeds. A great food source for both Robins…
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Now Back After Near Extinction
January 7, 2026 The mid-20th century saw Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) near extinction. What a surprise to find this out, since to me that doesn’t seem so very long ago. But that is the case, with there being a 90 percent drop in their population due to habitat degradation, and invasive House Sparrows (Passer domesticus),…
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Flicker In The Underbrush
January 4, 2026 A Northern Flicker Yellow Shafted form (Colaptes auratus luteus) in the underbrush. They generally feed on the ground using their beak as a probing tool. Eating fruits, berries, seeds, and nuts, but they also eat ants which can make up almost half of their diet. _______________________ If you would like to receive…
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Two Cedar Waxwings
January 3, 2026 Two Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) sitting in a tree looking for berries. The Waxwing in full view has a tail with yellow tips. This is the normal color. Beginning in the 1960s some Cedar Waxwings began to develop orange tail tips. This is the result of their eating the berries of the…
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Hunger At The Garden Gate
January 2, 2026 Word seems to have gotten out. No songbirds there for a meal. A Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) sitting on the garden gate, a spot where there are often many birds. Try, try again little hawk. And it is indeed a small hawk. The males of this species are the smallest hawks in…
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Eating Like A Bird
January 1, 2026 I take pride in saving the seedheads of native plants for the birds. Though I often see many Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) scrounging around looking for something to eat, I seldom see them eating the seedheads that I’ve deemed for the birds of my woods. These are the seedheads of Black-eyed…
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Red-breasted Nuthatch Stopping By To Toast The New Year
December 31, 2025 A Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis). When they’re here, it is during the winter. But that’s not every year. When I see one I’m ever so grateful to see this tiny Nuthatch, which grows to a length of 4.3 inches. Much smaller than the White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) that I see year round,…