Fall Warbler

I still have trouble distinguishing Wilson’s and Yellow Warblers in the fall. I think if I had a chance to observe them carefully for a while, it probably wouldn’t be too hard, but I’ve generally seen them actively feeding and hard to get a good look at for long.

Kids Identfying Birds

Recently my kids have been interested in trying to figure out what a bird is from pictures I’ve taken. Although both have shown some interest in birds over he the past few years, my son Connor has spent much more time paying attention to birds and trying to figure out what they are, so in many cases something that is a challenge for Rowan, he knows immediately. The picture above was one such example, so I had Rowan do this one on her own with a couple of bird books and some prompting questions from me.

In what follows, I will explain the process she went through and follow up with a second picture, so if you don’t already recognize the bird and want to try figuring it out on your own, you can check your answer below.

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Fall Colors

These bright red salmonberry leaves caught my eye when I was walking home recently. Salmonberries don’t usually show much color, and to the extent they do, it seems like it is usually just a muted yellow as the leaves transition from green to brown. There were also just a couple of branches with bright red … Read more