Seattle resident and renowned author Ivan Doig reflected on a world without birds in his book-length meditation, Winter Brothers. "A birdless world, the air permanently fallow, is unthinkable. To be without birds would be to suffer a kind of color-blindness. Occasional flashing…

Helen Hays has been observing and banding the Common and Roseate Terns that nest on Great Gull Island since 1969. She's there with colleagues from the American Museum of Natural History and a host of dedicated volunteers. These terns nearly disappeared when plume-hunters slaughtered them…

The endangered Marbled Murrelet is a bird of two worlds. Martin Raphael, a biologist with the Pacific Northwest Research Station, explains: "It lives in the marine world. But then it nests on the limbs of large, old trees. Its fate is tied not only to the fate of the trees, but also on…

Young Piping Plovers hatch in early summer, in competition for use of the beach. Patrick Comins, Director of Conservation for Audubon Connecticut, says if there were no fences or exclosures, it would be very easy to step on the eggs. "You can hardly see them. We have to put up little cages…

Author and naturalist, Frances Wood, and BirdNote founder, Chris Peterson, recently paid a visit to Earth Sanctuary, on Whidbey Island, WA. Chuck Pettis has created this place, where birds feel welcome. And why? Chuck says, "We're losing biodiversity. This is a way of taking personal…

Roger Tory Peterson, the best known American figure of 20th Century birdwatching, offered help on birding by ear. Whenever he could, he provided a catchphrase to identify a bird's song. "Witchety-witchety-witchety" captures the song of this Common Yellowthroat. The California Quail seems…

A female Dark-eyed Junco lands on a branch nearby, where you can admire her subtle beauty. The muted colors of her feathers. Her nearly weightless buoyancy. Her quick, bright eyes. Her tidy pink bill. Often in winter, you may see a "Slate-colored" Junco or an "Oregon" Junco. In spring…

A determined dry-land wheat farmer and a visionary baker are trying to help a bird in trouble, the Sharp-tailed Grouse. The farmer, Wade Troutman, leaves 30% of the land he farms in its natural condition. The undisturbed patches of sagebrush habitat provide cover and food for grouse and…

In our autumn, Bar-tailed Godwits fly non-stop for nine days across the Pacific, to reach New Zealand from Alaska. Each spring, the birds make the trip north to breed. But this time, they stop before they reach Alaska, to refuel on the shores of northeast China and the Korean peninsula…

Springtime brings the sound of a woodpecker - maybe one like this Northern Flicker - drumming on a hollow surface. Members of the woodpecker percussion band announce their territory and attract mates, as they pound away on metal roofs or gutters. Drilling holes in tree trunks calls for…