American Robin-Nature’s Troubadours If you have ever lived somewhere that American Robins breed, a spring without their bright, lilting “cheerily, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up” song lacks something magical. Yet…

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Red Shouldered Hawk-our fearless buteo   If you live in a Red-shouldered Hawk’s territory, you know it. (If you aren’t sure, you most likely don’t.)  Even non-bird-oriented people can’t ignore…

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Bird Names for Birds Wilson Warbler Leucadia Photo by Steve Brad I remember my first one. Bright yellow underneath, yellow-olive back and wings. Striking black cap. “What is that bird?”…

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The Northern Shoveler

As a medium-sized duck, the Northern Shoveler seems just too small for its preposterously large, flat, broad-tipped bill. A paint pallet on webbed feet, the male’s breeding plumage (September through…

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The Cuckoo in the Coal Mine

Yellow-billed Cuckoos (Coccyzus americanus) are fairly common in the eastern U.S. But in the last half-century, they have become rare in the West. Over the past 10 years in San…

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