Category Ornithology

Meet the Kinglets: Tiny Birds with Crowns and Big Personalities

WildWatch Weekly Meet the Kinglets: Tiny Birds with Crowns and Big Personalities Live Cams Donate Store Facebook YouTube Small Birds Worth a Closer Look A little movement in the branches. A soft call from an evergreen. A tiny bird that appears for a moment, then disappears behind a cluster of leaves. During a fall walk, it is easy to overlook a kinglet, but once you notice one, you may find yourself stopping to watch every busy branch. Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets are smaller than...

The Warblers Are Coming: Don’t Miss Fall’s Tiny Travelers

WildWatch Weekly The Warblers Are Coming: Don’t Miss Fall’s Tiny Travelers Live Cams Donate Store Facebook YouTube The Warblers Are Coming Something remarkable is happening in the trees around us. Each night, while most of us are asleep, thousands of tiny songbirds are passing over Pennsylvania on their way south. Among them are warblers, small, colorful birds weighing little more than a few coins. Some have traveled from Canada’s boreal forests, while others spent the summer nesting right...

Millions Overhead, Unseen: Catching Fall Migrants by Ear

WildWatch Weekly Millions Overhead, Unseen: Catching Fall Migrants by Ear Live Cams Donate Store Facebook YouTube Catching Fall Migrants by Ear Step outside on a clear, cool night this fall, ideally one with a light breeze out of the north, and stand still for a few minutes. Let the crickets fade into the background. If you're patient, you may hear it: a thin, high seet from somewhere overhead, then a soft, liquid peep, then nothing for a while, then another. You can't see who made them. You...

The Great Feather Makeover: Why Birds Look So Rough in August

WildWatch Weekly The Great Feather Makeover: Why Birds Look So Rough in August Live Cams Donate Store Facebook YouTube Why Birds Look So Rough in August Have you looked at the birds around your feeders lately and wondered what happened to them? A Northern Cardinal that looked brilliant red a few weeks ago may suddenly have a nearly bald, dark head. Blue Jays can appear ragged and unkempt. Chickadees and other songbirds may look fluffy, uneven, or just a little worn around the edges. Some...

The Secret Lives of Hummingbirds

WildWatch Weekly The Secret Lives of Hummingbirds Live Cams Donate Store Facebook YouTube The Secret Lives of Hummingbirds: Why They Suddenly Disappear From Your Feeder Few backyard visitors capture our hearts quite like hummingbirds. Barely larger than your thumb, these tiny aerial acrobats dart from flower to flower with incredible speed, hovering effortlessly as they sip nectar before vanishing in a flash of iridescent green or ruby red. So when late summer arrives and your hummingbird...

Think You Know Crows? Think Again.

WildWatch Weekly Think You Know Crows? Think Again. Live Cams Donate Store Facebook YouTube Think You Know Crows? Think Again. Few birds are as misunderstood as the American crow. Dressed in glossy black feathers and famous for its unmistakable "caw," crows are often associated with spooky stories, Halloween decorations, or noisy gatherings in winter trees. But behind those dark feathers is one of the most intelligent minds in the animal kingdom. Scientists have spent decades studying crows,...

The Next Chapter in Listening to Wildlife: Introducing BirdNET-Cloud

WildWatch Weekly The Next Chapter in Listening to Wildlife: Introducing BirdNET-Cloud Live Cams Donate Store Facebook YouTube The Next Chapter in Listening to Wildlife: Introducing BirdNET-Cloud For years, one of the most rewarding projects we've shared with the PixCams community has been BirdNET-Pi. What started as a simple Raspberry Pi project that could identify birds by their songs has grown into a worldwide community of wildlife enthusiasts, educators, researchers, and conservationists....

Built on Trust: The Birds That Depend on Us to Survive

WildWatch Weekly Built on Trust: The Birds That Depend on Us to Survive Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube A Different Kind of Wild When we think about wildlife, we often picture something distant, deep forests, remote mountains, or places untouched by people. But some of the most fascinating stories in nature are happening much closer to home. In fact, there are species that haven’t just learned to tolerate us, they’ve adapted to live alongside us so completely that their survival...

Night Shift Predator: The Power and Mystery of the Great Horned Owl

WildWatch Weekly Night Shift Predator: The Power and Mystery of the Great Horned Owl Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube A Raptor Built for the Dark Few sounds in the winter woods are as commanding as the deep, resonant hoot of the Great Horned Owl. It is a voice that carries through darkness and cold air, a reminder that while much of the forest sleeps, the night shift is just beginning. The great horned owl is one of North America’s most adaptable and formidable raptors. With...

Count What You See: Join the Great Backyard Bird Count This Weekend

WildWatch Weekly Count What You See: Join the Great Backyard Bird Count This Weekend Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube From Your Window to the World Whether you’re sipping coffee by the kitchen window, refilling a feeder on a cold morning, or pausing to listen for birdsong outside, these small moments of watching connect us to something much bigger. It often starts quietly, a flash of wings, a familiar visitor, maybe an unexpected guest, but each glance becomes part of a shared...