A bird you might miss in the Barrington area unless you know something of its habits and movements is the common nighthawk (Chordeilus minor). Late August and early September is the perfect
If there were a prize offered for the most elegant among songbirds, the cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) would be a serious contender. Sleek, crested, black-masked, suavely-toned in fawn and yellowish plumage with
A month into summer, birdsong has diminished considerably. But a few species still vocalize regularly. One of the most conspicuous songsters is the indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), a diminutive summer resident of
One of the more stunning species that nests in the Barrington area is the scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea). Even a momentary glimpse of the bird elicits a visual – and often audible
A frequently overlooked bird that returns to the Barrington area each spring, sometimes as early as late March, is the eastern towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). I learned its name as the rufous-sided towhee
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
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