The Red-headed Woodpecker is one of the coolest birds to watch. Two years ago, The Birdfreak Team was lucky enough to have a rare appearance of these beauties at the Callaway Nature Preserve‘s old, dying Willow Tree. Unfortunately, this species is declining. Habitat loss is the main reason. Additional causes are car collisions, fire suppression,
Month: March 2007
A Conversation About Conservation
Many people associate with nature – they might enjoy camping, scenic drives, or rugged hikes. The highest degree of nature lovers/naturalists are birders. But what is a birder? Many people that call themselves birders (or bird-watchers) usually do one or all of the following: Go outside to find birds Identify found birds to the best
Custom Feed Icons for Your Blog
Ever wanted to change the little RSS feed icon on your blog from something other than orange? Or make a bigger, more prominent icon? I found this cool website called Feed Icons! This site lets you download a set of various sized feed icons (free!!) that you can edit to your liking. I created our
Sand Bluff Bird Observatory – Banding Data Fall 2006
I just got my hands on last fall's banding season data at Sand Bluff Bird Observatory (SBBO) at Colored Sands Forest Preserve in Winnebago County. While I won't go through each species banded, I will try to give some of the highlights. First of all, there were two never before banded birds at SBBO: Bank
Continue reading Sand Bluff Bird Observatory – Banding Data Fall 2006
Eastern Meadowlarks
One of my favorite bird sounds. Sweet and to the point, the Eastern Meadowlark always brightens the day (even though this day was gloomy).
Pileated Woodpecker
This video was taken at Devil’s Lake State Park last summer. We thought the ground foraging was pretty interesting.
Illinois Migratory Thrushes
Illinois has seven regularly occuring thrushes, five of which are long-distance migrants: Wood Thrush, Swainson’s Thrush, Grey-cheeked Thrush, Hermit Thrush, and Veery. American Robins and Eastern Bluebirds (also in the thrush family) are year-round residents or short-distance migrants. Wood Thrush One of the most common of the migratory thrushes, the Wood Thrush is easily identified
Birdfreak’s New Employee
He doesn’t get paid (except in dog food) but we’d like you all to meet our new Doberman, Arizona! (pictured with our dad) He was dumped at a nearby airport and is about 1 year old. Today he went on his first birding trip and was infactuated by a low flying Canada Goose. We discovered
