Guides
Each guide answers one question completely, using checks you can make in seconds on the water.
Sorting Out the Sparrows
One of these is not a sparrow at all in the strict sense, and separating it from the natives is the first useful step.
3 min read
Feeding Birds in Winter: What Changes
Fat matters more than seed once it is cold, water matters more than either, and the birds at the feeder are a different set from the summer ones.
3 min read
Whose Nest Is This?
Nest shape, material and placement identify the builder more reliably than the eggs. And an active nest is protected by law, so the first rule is not to touch it.
3 min read
Identifying Birds by Sound
Most birds are heard rather than seen. Learn rhythm and quality before pitch, start with five species, and use the mnemonics — they work.
3 min read
There's a Hawk at My Bird Feeder
It is almost certainly a Cooper's or sharp-shinned hawk, and it is hunting the birds rather than the seed. Here is what to do and what not to.
3 min read
There's a Baby Bird on the Ground
Feathered and hopping is a fledgling and its parents are nearby — leave it. Naked or downy is a nestling, and that one goes back in the nest.
4 min read
Hummingbird Feeders: Four Parts Water, One Part Sugar, No Dye
Plain white sugar and water, in a 4:1 ratio. Red dye is unnecessary and unstudied, honey ferments, and the changing schedule matters more than the recipe.
3 min read
What to Put in a Bird Feeder
Black oil sunflower feeds nearly everything. Most mixed seed is filler that gets kicked to the ground, and the cheap bag is not the cheap option.
3 min read
House Finch or Purple Finch? Look at the Flanks
One is red on the head and chest over a streaky body; the other is washed raspberry all over with clean flanks. The females are separated by the face.
3 min read
A Bird Hit My Window. What Now?
Most stunned birds recover if left alone in a dark, quiet box. And the fix for the window is on the outside of the glass, which is why most products fail.
3 min read
Downy or Hairy Woodpecker? Measure the Bill Against the Head
Two nearly identical woodpeckers separated by bill length. Compare the bill with the width of the head, and check the outer tail feathers.
3 min read
Where Did My Goldfinches Go?
They are still there. American goldfinches moult out of the yellow into a drab olive-buff and keep visiting the feeder unrecognised.
3 min read
The Small Brown Bird at My Feeder
Four species account for nearly every one. Look at the breast — plain, blurry or heavily streaked with a central spot — and the answer follows.
3 min read
Crow or Raven? Look at the Tail, Not the Size
Size is useless without something to compare against. The tail shape in flight settles it at any distance, and so does the voice.
3 min read
Start With the Bill, Not the Colour
Colour is what everyone reaches for and the least reliable character a bird has. Bill shape follows diet, does not change, and eliminates far more of the list.
3 min read