Bryan's Posts About Birds
True North
You can lose your life in Norway — the life you might decide to leave behind for a new one here in true north.
Northbound in Sweden
How I have admired Sweden from afar: Carl Linnaeus. The practical Socialism. The Swedes named Lindström, Holström, Zetterberg and others who have helped my Detroit Red Wings win ice hockey’s Stanley Cup. I am afar no more. Now I love…
Upland Sandpipers Doing It
Feel good about these Upland Sandpipers not only because this photo offers us a cheap thrill. Feel good any time this grassland species reproduces. These are birds in trouble.
Considering Cowbirds
Here’s how I learned to stop worrying and start loving Brown-headed Cowbirds. An essay for Northern Woodlands magaine.
Go to BirdFest on Saturday
IF YOU GO TO BIRDFEST in Montpelier on Saturday you’ll probably hear a bird say “Free Beer!” You will most likely see a dinosaur going by the name Tyrannus. And you will witness what Roger Tory Peterson once called “the most vivid expression…
Montpelier Wild No. 6: Scarlet Salutations
NOW WELCOMING VISITORS to Hubbard Park is a Scarlet Tanager. Sounding like an American Robin with a sore throat, he sings above Parkway Avenue – the southeast entrance road to Montpelier’s “Central Park.” Your only hindrances are the maple leaves, which might…
Dirty Insect Image No. 4: Mustard Whites
In my continuing series of Dirty Insect Images, this pair of Mustard Whites (Pieris napi) spent about 10 minutes copulating on a red maple seedling yesterday.
Rain, Leaves and Warblers
FROM THE RAINS this weekend there will be birds – lots of them. Spring is coming slowly this year. Here in my home city of Montpelier, Vermont, the Bloodroot, which is normally done blooming by now, still flashes its elegant…
Chasing Spring 2014 – Warblers and Woodpeckers
Chasing the spring in North Carolina and other points northbound.
Montpelier Wild No. 5: Snowy Owl
Updated: April 20, 2014 Okay, we might call this edition of Montpelier Wild “East Montpelier Wild” (but close enough). This Snowy Owl, which I photographed on April 19, was still around Easter Morning. Find it along Towne Hill Road in…
Montpelier Wild No. 4: April Fireworks
In Monday’s heat the butterflies awoke. During our walk around Berlin Pond, where we noted 32 bird species, Ruth and I saw the year’s first butterflies: Mourning Cloak and Eastern Comma. They were also 2013’s last butterflies. These two species…
Desperately Seeking Rusty Blackbirds
By Bryan on April 9, 2014 It is basic black with an inelegant voice. It nests in places we rarely visit. And in relative obscurity, the Rusty Blackbird has suffered one of the most dramatic population declines ever recorded among…
