October 5th, 2019! Cackling Geese-like this one-migrate south from Alaska in October, and flock together for the winter at sites like Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, in southern Washington. In addition to music, the festival offers artwork and guided kayak and walking tours. Keep an…

South Polar Skuas glide just off the Pacific Coast each fall. Skuas are prone to piracy, stealing fish from gulls and terns by chasing them down. These birds are also fierce predators on their Antarctic nesting grounds, raiding penguin colonies, eating eggs and young chicks alike. The word…

In September, a streamlined Peregrine Falcon calls as it wings its way south from its Arctic nesting grounds. The pale gray falcon will spend the winter in Chile. On its back, it wears a miniature satellite transmitter, attached there by members of the Falcon Research Group. In 2006, Bud…

In some vineyards of Napa and Sonoma Counties in California, owls patrol by night, and kestrels, harriers, and other raptors take the day-watch. They eat the mice, rats, and gophers that nibble on the roots of young grapevines. Other birds help, too, including this Western Bluebird…

Caroline Raby and others at Cambridge University conducted experiments with Western Scrub-Jays, playing off the birds' natural tendency to cache food. In the first experiment, the jays cached food in the room where they expected to go hungry the following morning. In the second, they…

The Bullock's Oriole is the only member of the oriole family that nests in the Northwest. With a slender, sharply pointed bill, the oriole weaves a marvelous pouch-like nest that hangs suspended from its upper rim. The nest hangs downward four to eight inches. The female weaves together…

A dazzling bolt of avian lightning -- a blaze of neon-orange, shooting across a gray, sage-covered hillside on quick wing-beats. It's a Bullock's Oriole, sailing out from its nest among the upper branches of a cottonwood, hunting for insects in the shrubby sage. Bullock's Orioles return…

A White-throated Swift twists and turns, sailing through the air on black, scimitar-shaped wings that span 15 inches. Dashing headlong toward an unyielding wall, the bird disappears at the last second into a slender crevice. The White-throated Swift is aptly named. Flying at tremendous…

By June, many young Peregrine Falcons are ready to leave the safety of the aerie and go off on their own. A young bird lifts off and heads ... where? With a little luck, the young falcon will make it safely to a nearby ledge, whether cliff or skyscraper. Juveniles stay close to their…

The Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar denizen of cattail marshes throughout Washington. In marshes east of the Cascades, Red-wings must share space with a larger cousin, the Yellow-headed Blackbird. The two species don't share evenly. Zoologist and blackbird expert Gordon Orians writes:…