The Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Some birders speak of “spark birds,” species that caught their eyes and launched them as birdwatchers. Canadian Julia Zarankin, in her wonderful memoir Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder, describes her spark. On her first outing with a Toronto bird group, she...

Harlequin Duck – a Rare Visitor

We have had an unexpected avian visitor this winter in our Audubon chapter area.  A female Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is wintering on the St. Croix River below the Highway 8 bridge that connects Taylors Falls, Minnesota with St. Croix Falls,...

Chickadee Chatter

The sharp-eyed chickadees in our yard have something to say when I come out to fill our bird feeders. “Dee-dee-dee!” they call. “Dee-dee-dee-! Dee-dee-dee!” as they land on a branch directly over my head. As it happens, they are most likely speaking in “Chickadese”, a...

We are Family!

One beautiful spring evening a pair of sandhill cranes waltzed through our yard with what appeared to be two baby sandhills. Gary snapped a quick photograph of the sandhill family of four as we were sitting down to dinner on our deck. We couldn’t believe our eyes when...