Can you identify this bird? The photo was taken in Oregon during the month of September. The answer will appear next week.
Category: Birds
If You Build It…
I haven’t been birding much this summer. Finding time was difficult since I’m now at least somewhat gainfully employed. What time I did have was spent learning new plants. I found myself staying up much too late to get up before dawn, especially around the midsummer solstice. Added to the hot weather, the hurdles seemed insurmountable.
The few times I did go out, I didn’t see many birds. Nests had been built, nestlings were demanding more and more food, and the poor birds didn’t have the time or inclination to sit on a branch and sing.
Like Dragonflies? Visit Bitter Lake NWR!
I had never encountered so many dragonflies, both in sheer numbers and incredible variety. Birders speak of “hotspots”—places where birds tend to congregate. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, just outside of Roswell in southeastern New Mexico, is clearly a dragonfly hotspot.
August Quiz: Answer
To refresh your memory, here is the photo from August’s Bird Quiz. It was taken in Colorado during the month of October. Don’t read any further if you want one last chance to identify this bird. 
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August’s Bird Quiz
Can you identify this bird? The photo was taken in Colorado during the month of October. The answer will appear next week.
Birding Together
This past weekend, I discovered the joy of birding all over again. It all started with an email I received as Answerer-of-Emails for our Audubon chapter. It seemed that a group of retired missionaries was holding a reunion at a local conference center, and some of them wanted to go birding. Could we offer any advice?
I looked at the dates, then checked my calendar. Nothing vital was scheduled for that morning. So I wrote back and explained that sure, we could offer advice, but perhaps they would rather have a few local birders on hand to lead the trip?
Great Blog, Bug Eric!
Do you like arthropods? Do butterflies cheer you? Are dragonflies delightful? Do you want to know what that cool, metallic-bronze colored beetle is? Perhaps some pest is munching on your marigolds, and you want to learn more about it. Or, maybe spiders send you screaming. (I totally understand!) Would you enjoy reading an entertaining, scientific, yet easy to understand blog about all these topics—and more?
I’d like to introduce you to Eric Eaton, perhaps better known as Bug Eric.
Eric is the author of the Kenn Kaufmann Field Guide to Insects of North America, so you can tell he knows what he’s talking about. He’s an engaging writer. I love reading his posts. And happily for me, he and his wife, Heidi (who is also a fount of bug-related information), live here in town, so I get to directly benefit from his expertise (and patience with non-entomologists). You may remember that Eric and Heidi led June’s “Bugwatching” field trip that I enjoyed so much.
Carlsbad: Beyond the Cave
Rattlesnake Springs is an oasis in the middle of the desert. Located 27 miles south of Carlsbad, New Mexico, it’s owned by the Nature Conservancy. You can take in the entire place in one glance—a small pond surrounded by mowed grasses and some weeds. Further back some small trees and thick brush take advantage of the water. (There’s also a caretaker’s private residence, and some off-limits desert.)
Situated as it is at the juncture of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, the species list for spring migration is awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, we were there well past that season. Well, you go when you can.
July Quiz: Answer
To refresh your memory, here is the photo from July’s Bird Quiz. It was taken in Colorado during the month of May. Don’t read any further if you want one last chance to identify these birds.
July’s Bird Quiz
Can you identify these birds? The photo was taken in Colorado during the month of May. The answer will appear next week.
