For the Birds
Author's posts
Sep 29 2026
How to Tell a Hawk From a Falcon
A bird of prey flashes across the sky with a hooked bill, powerful wings, and sharp talons. You know you are looking at a raptor, but deciding whether it is a hawk or a falcon can be much more difficult. Hawks and falcons share many features because both are predatory birds, but they belong to …
Sep 28 2026
How to Keep Squirrels Away From Bird Feeders: Safe and Effective Solutions
Few things are more entertaining than watching squirrels race through the backyard, leap between branches, and investigate anything that might contain food. However, their impressive climbing abilities can become frustrating when they’re constantly raiding your bird feeders. Perhaps you’ve filled a feeder with fresh sunflower seeds, only to discover that a squirrel has emptied it …
Sep 27 2026
How to Keep Large Birds From Taking Over a Feeder
Watching birds gather around a backyard feeder can be one of the most enjoyable parts of birdwatching. Chickadees dart in for sunflower seeds, goldfinches perch delicately along feeding ports, and cardinals wait patiently in nearby shrubs for an opportunity to eat. But sometimes larger birds arrive and change everything. A flock of grackles may descend …
Sep 26 2026
Should You Take Bird Feeders Down in Bad Weather?
When dark clouds gather, heavy rain begins falling, or a winter storm approaches, you might wonder whether it’s safe to leave your bird feeders outside. After all, feeders can swing in strong winds, birdseed can become soaked, and snow or ice may block birds from reaching their food. But bad weather is also a time …
Sep 24 2026
Owls and Halloween: How These Birds Became Symbols of the Spooky Season
Picture an October night: a nearly full moon, bare branches moving in the wind, and somewhere beyond the porch light, the unmistakable call of an owl. It is easy to understand why people have spent centuries turning these remarkable birds into creatures of mystery. Owls appear on Halloween cards, decorations, witch illustrations, haunted forests, party …
Jul 03 2026
Gray Jays: Meet the Clever Canada Jay of North America’s Northern Forests
If you have ever hiked through a quiet evergreen forest in the Rocky Mountains, Alaska, or Canada’s vast boreal wilderness, you may have encountered a fluffy gray bird that seemed remarkably interested in what you were doing. It may have followed you from tree to tree, watched you unpack your lunch, or boldly approached your …
Jul 03 2026
Peregrine Falcons
Few birds command the sky quite like the Peregrine Falcon. Powerful, agile, and extraordinarily fast, this remarkable raptor is famous for its breathtaking hunting dives and its ability to thrive in environments ranging from remote sea cliffs to the tops of downtown skyscrapers. The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) is found across much of the world …
Jun 19 2026
Clark’s Nutcracker: The Remarkable Seed-Planting Bird of Western Mountains
High among the conifer forests and windswept ridges of western North America lives one of the continent’s most remarkable birds. The Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) may look understated in its gray, black, and white plumage, but behind that modest appearance is an extraordinarily intelligent member of the crow family with a memory capable of keeping …
Jun 19 2026
Mountain Bluebird: A Bright Symbol of Open Skies in the West
The Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) is one of North America’s most striking songbirds. With the male’s brilliant sky-blue plumage and the female’s softer blend of blue and gray-brown, this species brings a splash of color to open country across the western part of the continent. Often associated with grasslands, sagebrush flats, mountain meadows, and fence-lined …
Jun 13 2026
Sparrows: Identification, Species, Behavior & Backyard Guide
Sparrows are among the most familiar birds in the world. They hop beneath backyard feeders, disappear into roadside grasses, sing from fence posts, and gather in lively flocks around farms, gardens, parks, and city streets. Their brown and gray plumage can make them seem ordinary at first glance, but sparrows are remarkably diverse birds with …
