Wild Birds

Commonly called the “Mexican eagle,” the Crested Caracara is an all-around fascinating bird that I hope to see during my upcoming travel to Baja California Sur, Mexico. It’s the natural bird of Mexico, after all! The Crested Caracara is a member of the order Falconiformes and the family Falconidae, along with falcons and kestrels, but […]

I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to write the following sentence, but here it goes: I’m spending the month in France birdwatching and eating fresh pain au chocolat. It’s a tough life, as you can imagine, but I’m considering delaying my return to the U.S. Over the past month spent in the Loire Valley, I’ve

To see a Rough-legged Hawk is to feel the cold, crisp air of the tundra. These hardy birds breed exclusively in a narrow, almost continuous band around the high Arctic, moving south only in the winter to escape the worst of the weather, and bringing them into range of fortunate birders. Also called the Rough-legged

The Red-headed Woodpecker is gorgeous without a doubt, and it’s not hard to imagine where it gets its name from. Stunning scarlet heads contrast dramatically against black and white checkerboard bodies. This bird has a generous year-round range in the United States that has allowed me to enjoy many sightings. My first sighting was in

I am always impressed by how much there is to learn about even the most familiar birds. The Eastern Bluebird is no different. Although those who have spent time east of the Rocky Mountains are acquainted with the small blue flashes of feathers that grace our backyards, the details of their exciting lives are still

Broad-winged Hawks are one of only five raptor species (the others being Swainson’s Hawk, Mississippi Kite, Swallow-tailed Kite, and Gray Hawk) that migrate almost entirely out of North America for the winter. While they can be rather furtive during the breeding season, in certain locations, they suddenly become very apparent in the fall, appearing from

I used to think that the western United States was a dull desert landscape, with beige and brown hues and the occasional hint of green every now and then. I wasn’t totally wrong because some parts of Texas were just a long beige blur, but after living out west most of this year, I realized

In North America, the Rufous Hummingbird easily wins first prize in the “tiny but mighty” category. While they are one of the smallest birds to visit the Northern Hemisphere, they also happen to be one of the most aggressive – anyone who has hung a nectar feeder quickly learns that the resident Rufous Hummingbird calls

Birds of prey are incredible birds, and Harris’s Hawks are no exception. Unique in their coloring and highly sociable, Harris’s Hawks glide and soar in the sky and are usually easy birds of prey to spot. These hawks hunt in groups, giving them the nickname wolf hawks. Diurnal by nature, Harris’s Hawks are also popular

Since my first days of bird-watching, I have had a fondness for the Downy Woodpecker. Perhaps it is because it was the tenth bird type that I added to my life list when I was just starting to bird-watch. Maybe it is because the Downy Woodpecker is my wife’s favorite bird. Possibly it’s because when