News

Common Avian Diseases Common Avian Diseases By Jon Friedman Introduction Diseases and illnesses in wild birds are present throughout the world wherever populations of birds are found. Most backyard birding enthusiasts rarely have a need to investigate or research these conditions as the vast majority of these diseases and illnesses are not present in their backyard birds. However, backyard birders should be informed about the most common examples they are more likely to notice. Identification and prevention of the most common diseases that affect backyard birds can help slow or curtail the wide spreading of these problems into the larger...

REWARDS OF BACKYARD BIRDING By Jon Friedman Introduction I have been writing feature newsletter articles about various aspects of birding for many years now. I have written numerous articles about a wide range of topics including species identification and behavior, range and territory, feeding stations and foods, courtship and mating, migration, parenting and raising of chicks, learning abilities, diseases, birding “hotspots” and destinations, and a host of other topics as they relate to the birds we see in our backyards and in the field. While thinking about the topic for a feature article in this newsletter, I realized I hadn’t...

Avian Parenting and the Education of Baby Birds by Jon Friedman Abandonment Phainopepla by Doris Evans “I found a baby bird. It was abandoned by its parents.” This is one of the more common fallacies we hear expressed, especially during the nesting season. I explain why that particular baby, and almost all such babies, are never abandoned by its parents. Unless both parents are killed or severely injured, parent birds never intentionally abandon their offspring. Humans, and some mammals, will abandon their babies for a variety of reasons but birds, which greatly outnumber humans on the planet, almost never do. In...

From the Literature Compiled by Jon Friedman John Baker, The Peregrine,(Chuck Bowden told me this is the most important book he’s read) “She drifted idly; remote, inimical. She balanced in the wind, two thousand feet above, while the white cloud passed beyond her and went across the estuary to the south. Slowly her wings curved back. She dipped smoothly through the wind, as though she were moving forward on a wire. This mastery of the roaring wind, this majesty and noble power of flight, made me shout aloud and dance up and down with excitement. Now, I thought, I have...

THE WONDER AND MYSTERY OF MIGRATION By Jon Friedman (The topic of avian migration is too broad and extensive to examine in a single newsletter article. This article focuses on basic and historical information related to our understanding of migration. Future articles will focus on other important aspects that enable us to more fully understand this natural phenomenon.) Introduction Scientists and researchers from across a broad spectrum of the natural sciences (including ornithology, meteorology, climate change, paleontology, geology, etc.) have been piecing together the puzzle of avian migration for many years now. With each passing year and the technological advancements...