Chipping Sparrow and other Cape Bird Feeder Sightings

I was at my parents' house on the Cape this past weekend and despite the rainy weather there was quite a lot of activity at the front and back yard feeders. I saw a lone Chipping Sparrow, which went back and forth between the front and back yards, a Goldfinch pair, a female Cardinal, several chickadees and nuthatches, and a titmouse. I was also happy to observe that both of my parents' birdhouses are currently being moved into—the nuthatches are moving into the front yard birdhouse and the titmice are moving into the back yard birdhouse. Two years ago my parents had a great crested flycatcher family attempt to live in the back yard feeder, but House Sparrows kicked them out. They cleaned out the birdhouses after that and repainted them, but didn't get any inhabitants last year. My dad hypothesized that maybe they didn't like the fresh paint smell and now that the houses have had a year to 'season' they're attractive again. Nonetheless, I'll be anxious to see how these two families fare and hopefully the house sparrows will stay away.

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Well, Here We Are — Back to Birding Girl After 11 Years

Well, here we are—after an epic 11-year hiatus, I’m sitting back at my Adirondack chair, overlooking the picturesque cranberry bogs we live on now. I've swapped my super strong coffee for a hoppy, locally-brewed IPA to celebrate the end of the work day, and starting work again on my personal project- BirdingGirl. Honestly, it feels a little surreal. If you’re popping in and thinking, “Wait, she’s posting again?”—yep, it’s me! The binoculars are still close by, the dog is snoozing nearby, and yes, the birds have kept me company all along. Life Lately: Birding (Mostly) at Home Let’s get this out of the way—I never stopped birding. Not for a minute! Sure, life looks a bit different now. Marriage and kids will do that to you, right? These days, “getting out in the field” means looking up at the trees lining the trails leading to the cranberry bogs I walk my dog on, listening for great-horned owls and wood thrushes, or watching a flash of yellow as the warblers return each spring. I ...

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Using Birds to Control Tomato Hornworms

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