Water Merlin
Those falcons sure do love their water! They know that birds are in the open, exposed, sometimes exhausted and usually abundant along bodies of water including oceans, rivers, lakes, swamps and more. At this time of year, with so many birds on the move back to the north, hunting along and over water makes life easier for a falcon like this Merlin, able to snag prey that is already in a foreign place and tired from a long journey across the globe. Clever predator.
Read MoreSwamp Sparrow
Have you found your first of spring Swamp Sparrow yet? They may be found even if those swamps still have ice and snow in them…but any coastal or wet area will also do for now.
Read MoreGet outside and find Rusty Blackbirds
This gorgeous scene is on the trail at the Akeley Swamp Important Bird Area in Pennsylvania. It is a prime location to find Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) during migration and October is the right time to spot them. They can be found in wooded wetlands, marshes, ponds and agricultural areas mixed in with flocks of other species like the Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird. If you see any please enter them into eBird! Rusty Blackbirds are one of the fastest declining species in North America and we need all the data and information on them we can get to help...
Read MoreSunny Pennsylvania woods
It was difficult to find the sun on this cold autumn weekend thanks to the lake effect rain and clouds coming off of Lake Erie. I managed to find some light in Pennsylvania, making the woodlands feel all the warmer in the still strong sunshine. There should still be a few more weeks before we see any snow but the birds are beginning to reflect the imminent change with kinglets, always a sign of October to me, filling habitats like this.
Read MoreMurder of crows
This murder of crows filled the autumn sky earlier this afternoon in Pennsylvania. There may still be a lot of green on the horizon but it’s starting to feel a lot like fall, isn’t it? Flocks are forming and feeding is furious…
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