Birds

Late August through October is a perfect time to observe new birds as they migrate to their winter homes. A couple of days ago, I spotted a pair of common yellowthroats in one of the front gardens and was able to take a few photographs. I believe this male is pretty young, as his black […]

Whether out in the field or at feeders, it can be quite difficult to tell the difference between the female purple finch Haemorhous purpureus and female rose-breasted grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus. The purple finch is often mistaken for the rose-breasted grosbeak. Perhaps this is due to their sharing similar coloring as they do not share the […]

Now that the cooler weather is almost here, you’re probably wondering when you should start thinking about bringing your hummingbird feeders inside during the fall. Here in Maine, we have had a couple of nights that have gone into the 40s, but the weather has jumped back into being on the warmer side. When the […]

A few mornings ago, I was drawing back the curtains in the kitchen window and I discovered something was out of place. I suppose when you do the same thing every day, you just notice these things. Anyway, I looked a little closer and I spotted a juvenile broad-winged hawk Buteo platypterus in the front […]

One morning while I was working on the computer, I heard the voice of one of our female hairy woodpeckers that comes to the bird feeders quite frequently. In addition to this familiar voice, I heard a second woodpecker as well. This voice was much louder and very persistent. I also noticed our female hairy […]

Maine is home to a wide variety of nonmigratory and migratory species of birds. Now that it is almost the middle of July, we have been enjoying our resident species and the arrival of many new bird species for the season, as well as sightings of their offspring. In this post, I would like to […]