If you’ve spent any time reading birdwatching forums or talking to backyard enthusiasts, you’ll notice a recurring frustration: commercial birdbaths are simply not designed for hummingbirds. Most birdbaths are built for medium-to-large songbirds like cardinals or robins, featuring deep basins filled with 2 inches of standing water. But for a […]
If you’ve ever watched a hummingbird zip right past a standard pedestal birdbath without stopping, you’re not alone. A reader recently reached out with a sentiment shared by many backyard birders: "The Nova is not available anymore. And the Stokes is inferior because one is unable to clean the reservoir...
Every year, millions of birds in the United States face hazards ranging from window strikes and cat attacks to dehydration and avian diseases. For a bird lover, few things are more distressing than finding a feathered creature huddled on the sidewalk or fluttering helplessly in the grass. However, the line
Finding a bird that appears to be in distress can be a heart-wrenching experience. Our natural instinct is often to help, but knowing the right steps to take is crucial for the bird's well-being and your own safety. This guide will walk you through what to do if you encounter
What to Do When You Find an Injured, Sick, or Abandoned Bird
For decades, the backyard bird feeding aisle has been dominated by large, plastic bags of generic birdseed mix. These mixes often promise variety—sunflower, millet, cracked corn, and wheat—but they frequently deliver disappointment, waste, and, sometimes, even problems. Birders often find that their feeders end up half-full of uneaten grains scattered
Skip the Seed Mix: The Single Best Food You Can Put Out for Every North American Songbird.
Bird feeders are a source of immense joy throughout the long, cold winter. They offer a front-row seat to the natural world, transforming a quiet backyard into a vibrant hub of activity. However, in our eagerness to help our feathered friends, we can inadvertently create conditions that put them at
5 Mistakes That Make Your Bird Feeder a 'Pink Eye Pathogen' Risk This Winter
Attracting birds to your backyard doesn't have to be an expensive endeavor. With a little creativity and some budget-friendly approaches, you can transform your outdoor space into a vibrant avian sanctuary. This guide offers numerous tips and tricks tailored for a US audience, focusing on native plants, repurposed materials, and
In the enchanting world of backyard birding, the ultimate dream is to get a hummingbird to feed close to you. It’s an intimate, breathtaking experience—a moment where you feel a direct connection to one of nature’s most incredible creatures. There are types of hummingbird feeders that make this a reality
It is a tradition as old as human settlement: tossing stale bread scraps, leftover rice, or cracked biscuits out the back door for wild birds. This act, often motivated by genuine kindness and a deep-seated desire to help local wildlife, is sustained by the simple, comforting belief that "it can’t
The United States landscape transforms dramatically with the arrival of winter. As the deciduous trees shed their leaves and a blanket of snow may cover the ground, a unique opportunity for birdwatching emerges. For the birder, this season offers unparalleled viewing experiences. With less foliage to obstruct your view, locating
The American obsession with the perfectly manicured lawn—a vast, chemically-treated, green carpet—has inadvertently created an ecological desert right outside our doors. This aesthetic ideal, marked by raked leaves, dead-headed flowers, and closely-cut grass, is directly at odds with the survival of native bird populations across the United States. It's time
Across the sprawling urban landscapes and even venturing into rural areas of the United States, a ubiquitous feathered presence often goes unnoticed or is simply dismissed as part of the backdrop. Pigeons, European Starlings, and House Sparrows—common, prolific, and seemingly harmless—are in fact an unseen ecological invasion. While individually they
The Unseen Invasion: Why Feral Birds Are a Threat to Our Native Ecosystems
