If you have been the least bit attentive to bird activity or song these days, no doubt you have noted the return of red-winged blackbirds to the Barrington area. My mother-in-law does
As I write this profile near the end of a frigid February, there is little indication that migrants will begin to return to the Barrington area anytime soon. So I’ll focus not
It’s that time of year again! A new season of eleven upcoming Spring Bird Walks & Hikes with naturalist Wendy Paulson will kick off on April 3rd. All are welcome to explore
Recently a friend emailed me about a scene he observed outside the window of his kitchen in the early morning: “There is this Downy Woodpecker that has been roosting each night in
The migrant birds mostly departed the Barrington area a couple months ago. A few may linger – some bluebirds, robins, perhaps even a yellow-rumped warbler or two. Some may be able to
Is there any sound more attention-catching than the bugle of the sandhill crane? Loud, deliberate, trilling, it is apt to emanate from the skies above any clear day in November as flocks
Most of the neo-tropical migrants, long-distance fliers that spend the non-breeding season in Central or South America, have left the Barrington area by October. But migration still continues, dominated by migrants which
Thinking of the Midwest and its birds, one does not readily envision shorebirds, those species generally associated with coastal beaches. But every August and September, many shorebirds that have nested in the
As an English major, I had favorite poems. At the top of the list was John Keats’ “To Autumn.” I love the whole poem but it is the final line that always
Tyrannus tyrannus is the Latin name for the eastern kingbird. The bird lives up to its name. It aggressively defends its territory, even against hawks and other birds much larger than itself.
Many friends have told me this spring of seeing a neon orange bird flying from tree to tree in their yards: a Baltimore Oriole on the wing. Many also have reported Orioles
Editors Note: Wendy Paulson’s next Barrington bird hike is coming up on Friday, May 23rd. See below for the full schedule of upcoming spring bird hikes & walks. Great Blue Heron, Barrington’s
Editors Note: Wendy Paulson’s first Barrington bird hike of this spring is coming up at Ron Beese Park at 8 a.m. this Friday, April 4th. See below for link to Wendy’s full
If there is any songbird that consistently arrests attention, especially in a winter landscape, it would be the northern cardinal. The brilliant crimson plumage of the male makes even those little interested
A true harbinger of spring arrived in my email inbox today when Citizens for Conservation sent this year’s schedule of Barrington Spring Bird Walks and Hikes led by area naturalist and birder,