In spring, male sage grouse gather on leks to attract females.Most species of bustard lek, and birders familiar with sage grouse and prairie chicken will find their displays familiar: strutting and stamping, and a lot of inflated air sacs.

So I dutifully downloaded the Merlin App, practiced with my binoculars (to the concern of my neighbors), and spent time with the different quizzes and tutorials on eBird, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s online birding mecca, learning to recognize different birds by their songs and calls.

It’s not a gloomy book; Painter clearly loves travel and finding new bird species.Matthew Dickerson shares this passion in his wonderful new book, A Fine-Spotted Trout on Corral Creek .

In the original published version, it’s “4 colly birds” not “4 calling birds.” In England at the time, “colly birds” was a name given to blackbirds.There are hints of our past relationships with birds still among us…sometimes hidden in the lyrics of a popular song.

For an American whose template of “city” birds included pigeons and house sparrows, seeing an ibis strut beneath skyscrapers and menace city workers for a french fry is about as Australian as it gets.And it’s why endangered species captivate our attention, while the ubiquitous pigeon is a trash bird.

Pump is a natural history of the heart and the science is fascinating.Her book is a much-needed reminder that the plastics crisis isn’t an isolated problem that can be solved with reusable shopping bags or a natural body scrub.

© Debbie Leick Into the early 2000’s using a telescope to count birds that flew across the moon was the most common method of nocturnal research.

The Intermountain Bird Observatory was keeping tabs on them, and was receiving reports of up to 60 spending the winter here each year.And there’s perhaps no better way to discover those birds than by keeping a yard list.

McMahon does not approve of accounts like Manhattan Bird Alert and worries about how the crowds of gawkers are affecting the animals.“I don’t want that rare bird being surrounded by people!” she says.

“I wanted to learn a lot more about a bird species and study it and get to know it,” he says.The Ring Ouzel helps paint that picture, a study of a bird species in a specific place.

Lospalluto / Flickr I’m snowshoeing through Colorado’s Rocky Mountains when I see a small, nondescript bird at the far edge of the creek.American dippers are small and chunky — about the side of a robin — with grey-blue plumage, a brownish head, pink legs, a short tail, and a white eyelid.

The act of brood parasitism allows females to forgo the costs of nest building, incubating eggs, and feeding and protecting vulnerable young.

© Ashok Biswal The Nature Conservancy in India has been engaging with the local communities and working closely with state government authorities since 2017 to undertake and facilitate cost-effective and pragmatic riparian restoration activities in the selected patches of Narmada riverbank.

To help you make sense of the often bewildering range of choices, here are three of our favorite binoculars, well suited to the beginning, intermediate, and advanced birder.Nikon Monarch 5, Size 10x42 ($330)These binoculars are the perfect upgrade from less expensive, compact models.

Photo © Nils Bouillard He modeled the idea on the popular concept of the Big Year in birding, where birders attempt to see as many bird species as possible in one calendar year.“The rules for a birding Big Year are well established,” says Nils.

Apparently, the same cannot be said for the children who were walking to school while I was taking pictures of cedar waxwings.

It’s a list of all of the bird species you have seen from a very specific, small site, like your yard.More relaxed birders often keep a running list of new species seen in the yard.

And backyard birding is at its best when the snow falls and flocks of wintering species descend for sunflower and suet. A downy woodpecker at a winter bird feeder.