Scott Weidensaul is living a life of avian adventure. His recent book, A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migration, has become a New York Times bestseller—and for good reason: Scott is a masterful storyteller. About the Book (from Publisher W.W. Norton): In the past two decades, our understanding of the navigational and… Read more »
It’s the most wonderful time of the year if you’re a birder! And the staff here at Bird Watcher’s Digest is spending every minute we can in between our work responsibilities trying to soak up all the migrants passing through our yards and patches and whatever birdy spots we find ourselves this spring. We thought… Read more »
Here at Bird Watcher’s Digest we’re celebrating mothers, both human and avian! At this time of year, female birds are hard at work laying eggs and taking care of their young. If you’re looking for ways to help mothers with wings, we have five great ideas to share. Keep cats indoors. Domestic cats—even well-fed, mostly… Read more »
This spring has been rife with reports from backyard birders spotting finches and other feeder birds suffering from red, swollen eyes—the telltale sign of avian conjunctivitis. Bird Watcher’s Digest columnist and wildlife rehabilitator Julie Zickefoose has been treating birds with mycoplasma for many years, and she reports that this is the worst spring she’s ever… Read more »
The weekend of February 12–15, unleash your inner citizen scientist by joining the Great Backyard Bird Count. Participation can be as simple as spending 15 minutes (or more!) on at least one of the four days observing the birds in your backyard—or anywhere else—and reporting your findings. Participating is simple for birders of all ages… Read more »
Audubon’s long-standing tradition of Christmas Bird Counts are conducted each year between December 14 and January 5, and this season marked the 121st annual CBC! BWD editors Dawn Hewitt and Jessica Melfi participated in different counts on January 2, and here they share their very different—but equally memorable—experiences. The Thrills of Christmas Bird Counts by Dawn Hewitt Oh,… Read more »
We asked, and you all answered—thank you to everyone who responded to our call to celebrate a Green Friday the day after Thanksgiving! You will see in the gallery below some of the marvelous pictures our Facebook fans shared with us. Look at all those happy faces enjoying fresh air and nature, everywhere from their… Read more »
We have a lot to be thankful for here at Bird Watcher’s Digest and Redstart Birding. There are our readers and our customers and the birding community that keep us in business. And our friends and family, of course. And our own crew that feels more like family than colleagues. This Thanksgiving—this year especially—we wish… Read more »
Because of its great success in getting people outside and enjoying nature the day after Thanksgiving, we’ve decided to bring Green Friday back in 2020! In a time when social distancing is of utmost importance, this calmer alternative to fighting the crowds for Black Friday shopping just feels like the right thing to do this… Read more »
In case you missed it, last weekend, October 17–18, was the first Global Bird Weekend, “a new venture that aims to inspire birdwatchers to come together as a global community and celebrate birds, by participating in birdwatching, birdwatching events, citizen science and conservation.” The agenda for the weekend obviously included birding on Saturday, known as… Read more »
