Article archive

An Unexpected Lifer

   A fairly new tradition of mine is to go out on the first warm, wet night in March and look for frogs and salamanders in the woods behind my house. So far, I haven't been that lucky. Last year I found several different varieties of frogs along with some other interesting organisms such...
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Spring is here!

   The season of spring officially begins on March 20. But if you ask the birds, it is already here. In just a matter of days, the thick blanket of snow and ice covering most of Ohio has vanished and the list of birds sining has increased daily. Yes, spring is here whether the calendar...
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Bird Feeder Lists

   If you are an avid bird watcher, then you probably feed the birds. If not, you should start, and here is why. If you are a bird watcher, then you obviously like to see birds, and lots of 'em. When feeding birds during the winter you can often see at least 15 species in a day, sometimes...
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Ohio's Winter Birds

   There are far too many birds that winter in Ohio to list here. If you were to whittle down the list of Ohio's winter bird species to just the species that live in Ohio only in winter, heading out of the state in Spring, the list would still be far too long to discuss in a simple...
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How to Photograph Sharp-Shinned Hawks

   If you have been visitng my website for a while (about two years), then perhaps you may remember the story about the Cooper's Hawk that crashed into my window and knocked itself out. Well, nearly the exact same thing happened yesterday. Only a few details were changed, but almost...
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Black Grouse in Snow Burrows

   This video captures several Black Grouse exploding out of their snow burrows. You can see their tracks through the snow and then a hole, but how far the grouse burrowed from the entry point is amazing. Watch the video below:   Black Grouse* *Photo by Steve Garvie from...
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Fighting Grouse... and a Golden Eagle

   What happens when you cross two Wood Grouse and a Golden Eagle? A neat video. While two male Wood Grouse are battling each other, a Golden Eagle swoops in to show them who the boss really is. The amazing thing is how incorrigible the frist grouse is, even after the Golden Eagle was...
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Pelican Caught on Fishing Line

   While fishing, many things other than fish get caught. My brother once caught a snapping turtle, I have caught snakes, and now someone hooked... yep, you read the headline right. A pelican. Check out the cell phone video posted to YouTube. After reeling in the pelican, the guy that...
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Red Knot Subspecies Listed as Threatened

   You may (but probably won't) remember when I wrote about this subject in 2013. In 2013, the Red Knot was proposed to be listed as 'threatened' under the Endangered Species Act. Now, nearly two full years later, one of North America's two subspecies of the Red Knot has been officially...
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RARE BIRD: Loggerhead Shrike in Ohio!

   You may remember my posts in August of the Swallow-Tailed Kite in Highland County that I was lucky enough to see before it left the area. Now you will be pleased to know (if you live in the area) that there is another rare bird that has been continuing in Ohio for several days. A...
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