Think of a bird with such exquisite camouflage that even the sharpest human eyes fall short, a bird that occupies the mysterious twilight realm after days end but before nightfall. It lives in this thin space, designed to be heard and not seen, known only by its evocative call, Whip-poor-will. It is no wonder that […]
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Two weeks ago I wrote about the dearth of spring migrants in New Hampshire due to a stationary weather system that dominated the region in early May. It blocked birds’ northward progress out of the Gulf States until the system dissipated on May 9th, and immediately thereafter a wave of new arrivals appeared. I led […]
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Perhaps you have noticed that birdsong has been a little insipid this spring. The woods have been quieter than usual because the birds are late arriving. I am still waiting for a host of species to show up in my yard, including such staples as Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, and Veery. Of the migrants […]
Continue Reading →This is one. I devoted a page of Birdwatching in New Hampshire to GJN, a Canada Goose that was banded in Issungua, Western Greenland, in July 2008. GJN is the field-readable code on a large yellow band that is affixed around the birds neck. It was an easy choice to include this story in the […]
Continue Reading →Northern Goshawk takes its name from the old English word for goose, a testament to the significant power of this large forest hawk. It is also known by its curious scientific name Accipiter gentilis, which loosely translated means the gentle or noble hawk. Words for Birds, a fascinating lexicon of North American birds by Edward Gruson […]
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