View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Baltimore Oriole © Harry Collins|Dreamstime.com. American Kestrel © Menno67|Dreamstime.com. By early June the northern migration is pretty well over, the...
birding
Wrapping up the Migration
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive By the third week in May, bird migration is winding down. The resident birds are nesting or even feeding young. It’s time to check several areas where...
To Photograph a Drumming Grouse
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Ruffed Grouse drumming. Photo © Allen Shank. — Allen’s Story — Thump- thump- thump b-b -d-d-d-d-D-D-D-D-d-d-d-d-d. I sat upright in my chair. There on the...
Bird Feeder Contest Winners
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Whoo, Hoo, Hooo’s Home?
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Owls are a fascinating family of birds. Most of them hunt at night and roost in some secluded spot during daylight hours. They are often heard but seldom...
Next Stop: Dauphin Island
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Dauphin Island, Alabama. Photo © George Dodd|Dreamstime.com. White sand seashores…ocean breezes…quiet pine forests…With such peaceful beauty to call its...
Quacks and Splashes
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Waterfowl migration on the Choptank River, Cambridge, Maryland. Photo © Cheryl Shank. Surf Scoters floated beneath us on the Choptank River, their...
Chasing Short-eared Owls
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Short-eared Owl flying over a farm field. Photo © Adrian Shank. It was the evening of December 31, 2020. I was returning home from trying to find one more...
A Week at My Chosen Spot
My Chosen Spot contest Grand Prize winner Immature Red-vented Bulbul. Photo © Samuel Ching. When I saw the announcement in the July Nature Friend about the “My Chosen Spot” contest, I knew I should...
The Escapade
“Slow and steady wins the race,” I rehearsed to myself for the who-knows-how-many-eth time as I inched my way around the splendid oak. With my chin to the horizon I searched determinedly, hoping to...
Bird Suet Recipes
Suet TreatMelt together:—1 cup lard—1 cup unsalted peanut butterAdd:—2½ cups oats—2½ cups cornmeal—Raisins, nuts, birdseed “Zick Dough” SuetMelt together:—1 cup lard—1 cup unsalted peanut...
Snowbank Rescue
“What are you looking at, Father?” Joanna asked. She had just returned from the sink where she had swallowed a dose of cough syrup. Staying home from school was boring, and Father’s figure, leaning...
Yellow-bellied Bully
I think some birders have feeding stations simply because they enjoy watching for unusual birds or unusual behavior.Recently we had a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers coming to our suet log—one...
Rock Wren Record
Rock Wren. Photo © Zack Abbey / CC-BY-4.0. The parking lot was full. People milled around, all carrying binoculars, spotting scopes, or cameras. We found another parking area nearby, grabbed our...
Hummer Delights
Ruby-throated Hummingbird nest. Photo © Kevin Shank. I perched on scaffolding, twenty feet above a quiet country road. Across the road, Roaring Creek slipped and slid, curved and churned its way to...