A new discovery has been made in the ongoing man versus squirrel battle of wits. For those who might not have been keeping score, the present standings are Douglas Squirrels – 8,342, Grey-bearded human – 3. However this new discovery could very well indicate a turning point in the contest; turning point of course meaning […]
John E. Riutta
About John E. Riutta
Posts by John E. Riutta, MA, MBA, FLS, MemRES:
Disapproving Grosbeaks
There are some bird species that simply have facial expressions almost demanding anthropomorphism. After a few days of capturing images with my Wingcapes BirdCam at my number one grosbeak-attracting birdfeeder, I have come to the conclusion that the typical male Evening Grosbeak, Coccothraustes vespertinus, is (with all due deference to the Birdchick) not at all […]
Young Birders Be Jammin
Having recently reviewed Bill Thompson III’s new Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of Eastern North America in the Peterson Field Guides series and being highly impressed by it, I have been following developments surrounding it with great interest. So I was particularly pleased to learn that the good people at birdJam have teamed up with […]
Bird Feeder Pecking Order
Basic logic would seem to imply that in terms of pecking order at bird feeders, smaller birds would be displaced by larger ones. To a large extent this is in fact true – except in the case of Pine Siskins, Carduelis pinus. Perhaps the siskins that have recent reappeared at our feeders are simply more […]