Browsing Category "The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America"
Ospreys Return
By     |    Mar 27, 2020
Posted in: 41 North Magazine, ASRI, Audubon Society of Rhode Island, Kettle Pond, National Audubon Society, Natural Science, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Ninigret, Ocean State Bird Club, Outdoor writing, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    2 Comments

Ospreys Return

Note: This story appeared in the Providence Journal 3/27/20, and in hard copy 3/29/20. All photos by Gary Carlson: ifishinri@aol.com. Used with permission. The human world is in turmoil, but spring is arriving unconcerned. Skunk cabbage is popping its pungent leaves through the marsh. Forsythia is only days away from its sunlight yellow show of flowers. And in the skies, the Ospreys are returning. The males come first, making a […]

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Fly like an Eagle: The Surge of an American Icon
By     |    Feb 25, 2015
Posted in: ASRI, Audubon Society of Rhode Island, Kettle Pond, land trust, National Audubon Society, Natural Science, Ocean State Bird Club, Outdoor writing, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, The Nature Conservancy, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW, Wildlife Rehabilitators of Rhode Island, Wood Pawcatuck Watershed Association, WPWA     |    No Comments

Fly like an Eagle: The Surge of an American Icon

Note one: Unlike my other stories, none of the photos here were taken by me. I have noted sources of each. Note two: This story originally appeared in the Winter 2015 edition of the Audubon Society of Rhode Island’s Report. Along the Seekonk River, the wind sweeps bitterly cold air into the cloudy day. If it was chilly and breezy inland, it’s downright windy and freezing here. This is an […]

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FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES Part Two of Two
By     |    Jan 27, 2015
Posted in: BioBlitz, Bird Feeder, Born to be Wild Nature Center, Franklin Farm, Kettle Pond, National Audubon Society, Natural Science, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Ocean State Bird Club, Outdoor writing, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized     |    No Comments

FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES Part Two of Two

Last week, we covered bird feeder topics including choosing a feeder, what seeds work, and where feeders should be placed. If you missed it, check the archives. And don’t forget to follow SaNfaP on Facebook! 4. BREAD IS NOT GOOD FOOD FOR BIRDS. Sorry, but it’s true. Bread comes with several problems: it gets moldy, which is not good for birds at all. Second, like bread for humans, it’s really […]

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FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES: Part one of two
By     |    Jan 21, 2015
Posted in: Bird Feeder, Central Fall Middle School, Kettle Pond, Natural Science, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Ocean State Bird Club, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, The Nature Conservancy, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, Wildlife Rehabilitators of Rhode Island     |    No Comments

FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES: Part one of two

Science and Nature for a Pie is on Facebook! Click the “Follow” button  for photos, facts, and other goodies. http://facebook.com/scienceandnatureforapie . Local winters can seem like a photo of a parade from a century past: long lines of gray, slightly out of focus, and vaguely depressing. Leaves are long gone, flowers are a memory. Is there any life outdoors in winter? The answer is yes. One of the best ways […]

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Which hawk is that? Ocean State Bird Club workshop says behavior may hold key
By     |    Dec 21, 2014
Posted in: Born to be Wild Nature Center, National Audubon Society, Natural Science, Ocean State Bird Club, Outdoor writing, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, The Nature Conservancy, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, Wildlife Rehabilitators of Rhode Island, WRARI     |    No Comments

Which hawk is that? Ocean State Bird Club workshop says behavior may hold key

At 65 mph, the car is zipping too quickly down route 95 to observe much, and overcast skies obscure most color. The car passes beneath a light pole. At the top, a bird roughly the size and shape of a football perches, eyes fixed on the grass below. There’s a black line, a “belly band”, across its middle. Nearby is an open patch of grass. Is it a pigeon? A […]

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Masters of Construction: Bird Nests
By     |    May 18, 2014
Posted in: BioBlitz, Kettle Pond, National Audubon Society, Natural Science, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Ninigret, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, Roger Williams Park Zoo, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    No Comments

Masters of Construction: Bird Nests

  Consider this: the average human brain weighs roughly 1300 grams (2.86 pounds). A warbler brain weighs about 513 mg. (.00113 pounds). But while a human must spend untold hours and tens of thousands of dollars in order to learn to build a house, the warbler does so as a natural part of its growth process, and in response Spring’s most basic instinct: the urge to procreate. Granted, the plan […]

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Touch the Sky: Bird Banding with RI Natural History Survey
By     |    Apr 21, 2014
Posted in: BioBlitz, Kettle Pond, Natural Science, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, URI, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW, Wildlife Rehabilitators of Rhode Island, WRARI, Writing     |    5 Comments

Touch the Sky: Bird Banding with RI Natural History Survey

  For even the most casual birder, spring is an exciting time. The warm temperatures mean the return of birds not seen during the long dreary months of winter. Even feathers of the goldfinch, who lingers all winter, bear a dreary greenish color during the cold months. But that all changes come April. Suddenly, there are songs and brilliant feathers everywhere. Feeders fill with the newly returned, and many people […]

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Three Firsts on the First
By     |    Jan 3, 2014
Posted in: RINHS, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Uncategorized, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    2 Comments

Three Firsts on the First

The holiday season brings, among other things, loved ones from near and far. Yet by the first of the year, most have left and life returns to its relative normalcy. This New Year’s Day, however, was different indeed. On January 1, 2014, there were representatives from the Heartlands, the West, and even the Arctic. Friends never met, but only admired through the reports of friends on a listserv. Inland, the […]

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“My” Birds
By     |    Jun 21, 2013
Posted in: Red Bellied Woodpecker, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Uncategorized     |    No Comments

“My” Birds

It’s silly and I know it.  There’s no logical reason, but try as I might, I fall victim to it again and again.  Anthropomorphism. Giving human characteristics to non-human creatures is hardly new.  The term comes from the Greek words “anthropos” (human) and “morphe” (shape), but this notion is universal.  Still, that’s no excuse. At the moment, the animal in question is the Red Bellied Woodpecker.  The Sibley Field Guide […]

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