The snow is coming down at a fair rate and I can’t wait till Spring. I’ve been busy creating a website for the Rockford Bird Club including a Winnebago Birding Guide so haven’t had as much time to post. When those projects are further along, I’ll post about them. Northern Illinois has some suprisingly good
Month: February 2007
I and the Bird #43
Earth, Wind & Water hosts I and the Bird #43 – an excellent film festival! Enjoy the show!
Bird-By-Bird: American Redstarts
The American Redstart is flashy and great fun to watch. Their range extends as far as northern South America up to Canada. Finding this crazy warbler is the easy part, it’s keeping them in your bins that can be rather difficult. They move constantly, catching insects, zipping around and fanning their tail. Their numbers are
Conflicting Protection
When a group’s religious practices require the killing of a protected bird species, the result is a never-ending debate. Some Native American tribes use eagle feathers, heads and talons in certain ceremonies. (There are also many tribes that protect birds and think that endangered birds should not be killed.) This debate is very tricky because
Great Backyard Bird Count Results
We had a below average list of birds for this year’s count. Total of 59 birds of 12 species seen. Notables were a Cooper’s and Red-tailed Hawk. Our backyard hasn’t been producing the greatest amounts of birds of late. We have had thirty or more American Goldfinches at one time and 50-75 House Finches but
Prairie Peninsula
Winnebago County rests in a zone of transition. Part one of this series discussed the Dissected Till Plains. This is part 2 of 3 of this series. The Prairie Peninsula, according to Partners In Flight, is located in Missouri, much of Illinois, and parts of Indiana and Ohio. This is the area that once earned
The Great Backyard Bird Count Has Begun!
Birder’s… start your tallying! This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count officially began (at midnight I suppose) but unfortunately there’s a little thing called “work” and “school” that are getting in the way of counting. Hopefully the weekend will bring loads of birds! Our tally will be posted on Monday!
Improving Power Lines for Raptors
In a joint effort, the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee, Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and the California Energy Commission have put out a new edition to the publication, Suggested Practices for Raptor Protection on Power Lines. The book has helped provide an increased awareness of the problems raptors have with dealing with power lines and
