Birding: Competition for birdseed — squirrels in the Prescott area

Birding: Competition for birdseed — squirrels in the Prescott area

Earlier this week, I was both surprised and thrilled to see an Abert’s squirrel sitting in my platform bird feeding tray, getting its fill of bird seed. In the 16 years we’ve lived at this house, I have never seen an Abert’s squirrel in my yard! This is a species that...
Birding: Recent local rare bird sightings create excitement

Birding: Recent local rare bird sightings create excitement

On Monday, Jan. 31, I was making a birdseed delivery to a customer who lives in the Dells. Her yard is incredibly birdy, and I always enjoy delivering seed to her home. As I was leaving her home, I heard the unmistakable sound of vocalizing white-throated swifts,...
Birding: Vocalization mimicry can fool even the best birders

Birding: Vocalization mimicry can fool even the best birders

This past week, Gayla and I visited our son, Merritt, and his family in Edmond, Oklahoma enroute to Mexico, Missouri to attend the Wild Bird Expo trade show. I’ve attended this annual trade show since 2005 to do buying for our store, and as you might imagine, I always...
Birding: Thrashers, jays are common in the Prescott area

Birding: Thrashers, jays are common in the Prescott area

I was recently asked by a customer how likely it would be to see a curve-billed thrasher in Prescott. If I had been asked this question a few years ago, I would have said it was pretty unlikely. However, over the last few years, it seems that curved-billed thrashers...