Research has demonstrated that we don’t multitask well; instead we switch quickly from one single task to another. But this produces a mental bottleneck and interferes with performance. This means that the moron in the BMW next to you texting his girlfriend is either driving or texting at some level, …

Thomas Nuttall was an English naturalist who spent many years in the U.S. collecting specimens; this woodpecker was named after him by William Gambel (after which a quail is named.)
The Nuttall’s Woodpecker is small , a little more than seven inches long. Like most woodpeckers, it is mostly black and …

Want to go back 50 years in time? Take the Amtrak California Zephyr to Chicago. I did. Train trip was interesting and I really enjoyed the scenery, but I can’t say much for the train or the service. The sleeper room we booked was so small we had to step …

LEAVE BABY BIRDS BE
Only 10-20% of songbird eggs ever result in an adult bird. The eggs might be infertile, die during incubation due to genetic or environmental causes, or be eaten by predators. Weather might blow the nest out of the tree or the young might starve. When young birds …

“There’s no shortage of birds”, read a recent comment to our local newspaper. The caller said not to blame cats for killing birds as cats have always been predators. Clearly the commenter is out of touch with the facts. Cats kill nearly four billion (that’s with a B) birds a …

 
The word “gull” originally came from the Welsh, meaning “cry or mew.” In the 16th century it came to mean one who is gullible or easily swallows a story, deriving perhaps from “gullet.” There are about 45 species of gulls around the world, all called gulls except for two kittiwakes; …

In the early 1800′s an eleven year old Hungarian boy named Ignaz Von Peczely caught an owl and accidentally broke its leg.  The boy looked into the bird’s eye and noticed a black stripe in the iris. Years later Peczely came up with the idea that illnesses or a propensity …

I often get asked, “what’s your favorite bird?” I don’t have one. They are all fascinating, from the common European Starling to the rare Kagu. Some have striking coloration, others display complex or bizarre behaviors, and some are just impressive for their size. But they are all cool.
Another question, though, …

There’s been some controversy about the banning of plastic bags in our town. One side says it’s silly and the other says plastic is harmful to the environment. Some of the opposition says that reusable bags, if not washed regularly, carry harmful bacteria. So I started to watch what happened …

A recent news item reported that residents of one Bridgewater, New Jersey neighborhood counted at least 100 Black Vultures roosting in a group of pine trees, leaving behind foul-smelling and acidic droppings on lawns and roofs. So the neighbors chipped in and hired a wildlife specialist from the United States …