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Greetings!
With breezy days and crisp nights, we're feeling the
change in season here at Birdwatching Dot Com. It's
exciting to be alive. At any moment a falcon,
harrier, or other hawk may fly over, or a flock of
migrating native sparrows may turn up in the
underbrush. We grab our binoculars and take them
along every time we step outside.
| Light Getting in Your Eye |
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Birders sometimes buy large binoculars in hopes of
maximizing brightness.
But in daylight, a good 32mm
binocular usually delivers all the light a person
can use. It can give just as bright an image as a
42mm or even a 50mm binocular.
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| Dear Diane... |
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Dear Diane: Is there any way I can attract birds
that don't come to
feeders? I'd like to make
my yard
inviting to warblers, catbirds, thrushes, and birds
like that. -- Rosemary C., Oxnard, CA
Birds come to places that meet their basic
requirements, such as food, water, and protection
from weather and predators. In other words,
habitat. If your backyard offers good
habitat, it will be home to many birds. One way to
improve to your yard's habitat is to create a brush
pile.
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| Stars of Navigation |
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In fall, many birds are migrating to their winter
homes. They travel great distances. Some fly
non-stop across 600 miles of water to cross the Gulf
of Mexico.
Since the young hatched this year have
never even seen their destination, it is hard to
imagine how they find their way. But we do know
something about how at least one species does it --
the indigo bunting.
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The peregrine falcon drawing is copyright Mimi Hoppe
Wolf 1997.
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Raptor Rapture |
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The wildest of wild things pass through our
human-ordered landscape in fall. Fall is raptor time
in the much of the US.
Many hawks nest and raise their young in the
long-day latitudes of Canada and the northern
states. In fall, they're riding the sky south.
This is the window of opportunity to see more
raptors than at any other time of year. It's also a
great time to encounter a peregrine falcon.
Read on...
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