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Bird of the Week: Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay
By Abby West Featured Photo by Chris Wood Woodhouse’s scrub-jays are an odd bunch, described as the Blue jay of dry lowlands from Nevada south to Mexico. They’re most often seen in Central Texas as a blue-grey streak disappearing into the brush. They’re said to be residents here, breeding and nesting in the oak-juniper woodlands […]
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Bird of the Week: Rock Pigeon
By Abby West Photo by Matias Basualdo One of the first birds to be domesticated, pigeons and humans go way back, like 5,000 years back. As such, it’s next to impossible to tell where their native range was, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Nowadays you can find Rock Pigeons scavenging for leftover cheetos […]
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Bird of the Week: Carolina Chickadee
Compiled by Abby West Photo by Michael O’Brien Chickadees are one of the first birds I could semi-reliably identify from (some of) their calls. I came about this skill by repeatedly marveling at their teensy little bodies emitting such decisively loud noises. Carolina chickadees are cute, no doubt- with black caps and black bibs highly […]
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Bird of the Week: Blue Jay
By Abby West Photo by Jim Ridley Blue jays are unmistakable with their highly saturated plumage and loud, harsh calls. They are ubiquitous throughout Central Texas and the Eastern United States, which can easily lead us to take them for granted or overlook them. Although in reality, most folks who pay attention to birds have […]
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Bird of the Week: Ruby-throated Hummingbird
By Abby West Feature photo by Tibor Nagy Flashes of red and green whiz by our back patio and my kids run out shrieking, “the hummers are back!” The arrival of the Ruby-throated hummingbirds marks the beginning of summer in our backyard, although hummingbirds arrive from their wintering range in Mexico or Central America here […]
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Bird of the Week: Crested Caracara
By Abby West Lead Photo by Suzie McCann Crested caracaras are noticeable– photos of them intermittently pop up in my neighborhood group typically captioned something like, “what is this weird looking bird?” My neighbors aren’t wrong: they look like weird vultures but with flattened heads, sporting their signature black crest (aka fohawk) and donning a […]
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Bird of the Week: Monk Parakeet
By Abby West Monk parakeets are an Austin favorite, giving an ordinary stroll around Townlake an exotic feel with their bright green feathers, hooked orange beaks and tropical-sounding call. They look exactly like escaped pets because they are (at least, descendants of escaped pets). Native to temperate low-lands in South America, a few rogue parrots […]
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Bird of the Week: Northern Cardinal
By Abby West Northern cardinals are a gateway bird, introducing many of us to the nerdy and fascinating world that is bird watching. That bright red flash has caught many an eye and led us into the realization that this world, as it turns out, is full of all kinds of interesting birds. Cardinals are […]
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Bird of the Week – Barred Owl
Image courtesy of Alabama Ag Extension By Abby West Owls have captured the imagination of humans for thousands of years, apparently striking fear, or at the very least a kind of reverence into our hearts. For centuries, Native cultures across the world have crafted this reverence into stories where owls embody restless spirits of the […]
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Bird of the Week: Spotted Towhee
Photo by Gregory Vinyard Written by Abby West Hiking around with my family at Enchanted Rock last January, we were all startled by a sudden flurry of leaf litter that shot out at us from beneath some bushes several feet away. Kneeling down, I took a peek under the brush, expecting to see a fidgety […]
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Bird of the Week – Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Photo by Kenneth Cole Schneider By Abby West We’ve camped at Enchanted Rock at least once every year for the past ten years. Except this time, I’d been paying attention to birds for the better part of a year and every glimpse of an unfamiliar bird sent me feverishly thumbing through my David Sibley book […]
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Bird of the Week: Downy Woodpecker
Photo by Evan Lipton Downy woodpeckers can be found here in Central Texas year-round. Downy woodpeckers are common in any woods, especially near rivers or groves of deciduous trees. Perhaps this is not the right crowd for this confession, but here goes: if you’re anything like me all woodpeckers look more or less.. the same. […]
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Bird of the Week: Green Heron
Photo by Daniel VanWart Let me introduce you to the Green Heron, my favorite bird. The few times I’ve mentioned this fact to my friends after we spot one wading in the reeds or flying overhead they look at me.. puzzled. That’s because at first glance or from a distance, these birds look drab and […]
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Bird of the Week: Belted Kingfisher
Photo credit: Johann Schumacher Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) By Abby West There’s no shortage of gorgeous photos of kingfishers on the internet. These peculiar birds fly sort of like a hummingbird, dive a little like an osprey, and burrow like a mole. Not to mention they are vibrantly colored and interesting to look at because […]
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Bird of the Week: Zone-tailed Hawk
A Zone-tailed Hawk in flight. Photo by Erick Houli. Before either of us got interested in bird-watching, my husband had a funny habit of hollering, “Look! An eagle!” at every vulture he spotted in the sky. That is, it was funny the first time or two. After a while it got old, and I told […]
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