Many birds prefer nesting in tree cavities or on platforms.
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By John Zvirovski, Jamestown Sun Garden Editor | 12:00 am, May 8, 2021 ×
Wrens inhabit smaller birdhouses with little openings. A little research can help you find the best birdhouse for your yard. John Zvirvoski / The Sun
For anyone who enjoys the numerous species of birds inhabiting their gardens, this is the time of year to start adding the amenities into your landscape to attract them into the neighborhood. Putting up a variety of birdhouses is one of the first things that will bring them into the yard. Although only about two to three dozen selections in our area will actually use a birdhouse, it will create a wonderful start.
The Beacon
In springtime, visitors to the Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) are eager to enjoy The Biggest Week in American Birding. First-timers often discover they don’t have to go very far to see a wide range of colorful migrating birds.
In fact, the birding can be excellent right around the BSBO headquarters nestled in the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area on the Lake Erie shoreline.
Located at 13551 W. State Rt. 2 in Oak Harbor the Village of Oak Harbor is just to the south it’s easy to find with the highway signage.
Here are some birding hotspots shared by BSBO members and birding experts.
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Yellow-bellied sapsucker
Have you seen any Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers recently? This is a good question for separating birders from non-birders. Non-birders would laugh, certain that this absurd name is made up - it sounds like a name invented by a tv writer to make fun of birdwatchers, as they do. Birders would quickly answer yes or no, because they know this is a real bird, an attractive but uncommon woodpecker. Why am I telling you this? Because it’s time to talk about silly, fun, and just plain annoying bird names.
Maybe the most frustrating category of bird names, especially for beginners, is “birds named for invisible anatomical features”. A classic local example is the Ring-necked Duck – I don’t think I’ve ever seen the alleged “ring”- and most people who’ve seen one would prefer to ring the neck of whoever named them. Another is the Red-bellied woodpecker, with it’s flaming red crown and nape but barely visible, sometimes there in good light, vague red
Red-tailed Hawk - Photo by Jared Manninen
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it has never been more important for people to get outside and away from their screens. Spending time in nature has been shown to have countless health benefits. It can reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, even while socially-distancing. Interaction with wild animals in their own habitat can boost one’s mood and decrease physical symptoms of stress, such as fatigue or difficulty sleeping. Some health care providers specifically encourage the pursuit of observing animals in nature for patients suffering from anxiety and depression. There’s one activity that brings all of those health benefits together, and best of all, it’s free and fun for all ages: birding.
The Hairy Woodpecker is one of the many birds that birders can find in the Tahoe Basin.
Provided by Ronan Hurley
With COVID-19 still ever so present, many are flocking to the outdoors to connect with nature and others in a safe, socially-distant way.
According to Tahoe Institute of Natural Science in Incline Village, interactions with wild animals in their own habitat can boost one’s mood and decrease physical symptoms of stress, such as fatigue, difficulty sleeping or even help to alleviate feelings of anxiety or depression.
TINS announced its 2021 “Tahoe Big Year” event. The year-long scavenger hunt invites people to scour the region for as many bird species as possible.