The Eastern Bluebird is one of three varieties of bluebirds that are native to North America. The other two are the Mountain Bluebird and the Western Bluebird. These two bluebird varieties live in areas true to their names, far to the west of us. The Mountain Bluebird however can be found nesting in western regions…

What a joy it is to attract the Rose-breasted Grosbeak to our feeders after they have wintered in Central and South America. This little finch, which weighs about 1-3/4 ounce, has had a long trip to its nesting territory. The Nature Center has banded these birds in past years and it is always exciting to…

In the spring and early summer, we may have noticed a bird with a stiff flap and glide flight pattern, reminiscent of a Sharp Shinned Hawk. But closer inspection reveals the male Mourning Dove in a courtship flight, then returning to his favorite “cooing” perch. In flight he has a whistling sound as doves often…

The Red Tail is our most common and widespread North American Hawk. It is also one of the largest and most powerful of our hawks. If you see a large hawk in the summer, sitting in trees or on a light pole, it is probably a Red Tail. Though they are common, there is a…

The Dark-Eyed Junco is represented by five forms throughout the U S. At one time, they were recognized as separate species. Many still think the larger White Winged Junco of the Black Hills area may fit this belief. It seems to stay in an elliptical area adjacent to this part of the country. Ornithologists seem…

This tiny jewel is the only one of the 16 species of Hummingbirds in the U.S. to regularly nest in the eastern part of the country. It is also one of the smallest of the species, weighing from 2 to 6 grams, or approximately 0.2 of an ounce. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are medium to long-distance migrants….

The diminutive House Wrens are one our most entertaining and longed for birds of the spring by most backyard bird enthusiasts… Their excited antics, and the male’s bubbly enthusiastic song, are cherished by many.  It is the most widely dispersed Wren in the western hemisphere with subspecies nesting as far south as Brazil. Their habitat…

The House Finch, a now common bird that visits bird feeders throughout the Eastern, Midwestern, and Central Great Plains states, is actually a western bird species that was introduced from California into Long Island, NY by caged bird dealers around 1940. They were being sold in the pet trade as Hollywood Linnets, or Hollywood Finch…

The Downy Woodpecker is a permanent resident bird. They are well established in older neighborhoods with mature trees and the first of our woodpeckers to show up in a developing neighborhood. It is not only the most common and prevalent woodpecker in this area, but is also the smallest of our North American woodpecker species….

If ever there were a bird that arrived in our backyards in preparation for the winter acting almost as happy to see us as we them, it is the Red-breasted Nuthatches. During the summer these little dynamos live in northern and western coniferous forests of spruce, fir, pine, hemlock, and western red cedar including the…