Blog

Passion for Purple… Martins

by Ann Markin | Jul 10, 2021

Long ago, native Americans hung up hollowed-out gourds to attract nesting Purple Martins. Today, we erect apartments in the sky or groups of plastic gourds for the same purpose. And over time, these beautiful birds have developed a relationship with humans unlike...

Summer Sojourners: Baltimore Orioles

by Ann Markin | Jun 11, 2021

Baltimore Orioles bring brilliant color and cheerful songs to our summers. The male is black, with an orange breast, tail and shoulders and has white on the wings. The female is pale olive green to brownish above, with a dull yellow to yellowish-orange below and two...

Bluebird Basics

by Ann Markin | May 8, 2021

Bluebirds enchant us with their lovely colors and sweet songs. This may explain why we associate bluebirds with happiness, love, and spring. Poetry, prose, and lyrics extol the virtues of these warm weather visitors. East of the Rocky Mountains, the Eastern Bluebird...

Robins – A Sign of Spring

by Ann Markin | Apr 7, 2021

I’ve had robins in my yard all year long, but they still seem to be a sign of spring -- maybe because they rarely stayed this far north in winters when I was younger. Currently, they are looking for a nesting site so I have taped the foil strips above my security...

Mourning Doves

by Ann Markin | Mar 8, 2021

The mournful cooing sound of the Mourning Dove is probably responsible for its name. Often heard before dawn and dusk, the call is often mistaken for that of an owl. Most often found on the ground, the browns, grays, and black of their feathers help them blend into...

Help Birds Keep Warm This Winter

by Ann Markin | Feb 11, 2021

In the cold of winter, there are many things you can do to help birds survive the season. Here are a few tips that are easy to implement. Birds use a lot of extra energy to keep warm in cold weather. Therefore, they must consume more calories than they do in warmer...