The wood thrush is one of my very favorite birds of eastern U.S. deciduous forests. Not only does the wood thrush have a stunning melodic call, but it is a pure beauty to look at. A migratory bird, it breeds across the eastern U.S. in the summer and migrates to central and south America in the winter. … Continue reading Contrast

Pileated Woodpeckers (dryocopus pileatus) @ Arcata Community Forest (Arcata, CA) Woodpeckers are extremely opportunistic birds. This pair of pileated woodpeckers, one of the largest of its kind in the U.S., often finds tiny openings in the bark of the trees in my backyard in northwestern Pennsylvania. Each tree is a window, revealing tender morsels of food … Continue reading Open Doors and Windows

The northern mockingbird is a ubiquitous bird across much of the U.S. They were a constant presence in my own backyard growing up in south-central North Carolina. There is no mistaking a mockingbird when it is around. I caught a picture of this guy several years ago at my childhood home. While they aren't necessarily the most … Continue reading No Need to Mimic

Just a few weeks ago, I arrived early in the morning to my bird banding site in northwestern PA. As my student assistants and I started to set up our nets, we noticed all sorts of debris in the vicinity. Branches were down, leaves and sticks were scattered and our nets were blown out of … Continue reading Joy in the Storm

This is what a bird looks like stuck in a mist net. Mist nets are used to capture birds who fly into them unsuspectingly so that they can be evaluated and banded for tracking. I imagine it is a bit traumatic for the birds at first. You are flying along, eagerly greeting the day, when … Continue reading Tangled

@ Olympic National Park - Port Angeles, WA I was fortunate enough to spend several months in the northwest corner of the U.S. for my dissertation field work in 2013. I traveled throughout Washington, Oregon, and California, with much of that time spent in coastal areas. As often as possible, I was outdoors, and the Hoh … Continue reading Pop of Color

I know these guys look a little funny, perhaps even a bit alien. They are, indeed, pretty pathetic and rather helpless at this stage in their development. These are red-cockaded woodpecker nestlings that my friend and wildlife biologist Julie Hovis pulled out of a nest cavity several summers ago near Sumter, South Carolina. Because they are … Continue reading Commencement