It has been 5 days since I last visited the Ruby-throated Hummingbird nest. I was delighted to see that there were two small bills protruding above the rim of the nest. Since the chicks were facing away from each other I could barely see both bills at once.One bill was pointing up at the northwestern…

I saved the cutest for last. Everybody’s favorite — the Puerto Rican Tody is a tiny flycatcher. One of the most colorful and sought after birds in Puerto Rico, it is thankfully one of the most common of the endemics. It is found throughout the country, but easily overlooked due to its diminutive size of…

Everybody loves owls! The Puerto Rican Screech Owl is the only endemic owl on the the island. More often heard than seen, the male has a short, guttural trill heard typically in early morning or late evening. It is about the same size as the Eastern Screech Owl of North America, but it lacks the…

Puerto Rican Nightjars are best found in the Guanica Dry Forest in southwestern Puerto Rico. Endemic species, those species restricted to a particular region, are always a target of birders. Island nations, like Puerto Rico, are typically a location expected to have a number of endemics. Puerto Rico has about 17 endemic birds. I say…

They say that only 3% of Brown-headed Cowbird eggs laid make it to adulthood. That may seem surprising low given the number of cowbirds that are around, but not all eggs are laid in the nest of an appropriate host species. A female cowbird (above) is capable of producing as many as 40 eggs in…

Always an attention grabber for new birders, Great Egrets are common at the Bombay Hook NWR. During last weekend’s birding excursions through Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge I was guiding families with kids of all ages. Neither the parents nor the kids (with a couple exceptions) had any real birding experience. Perfect, I thought, everything…

It was no surprise that the female was away from the nest when I arrived. I had hoped that yesterday’s torrential rains had not caused her to abandon the nest. It is well protected from above, by layers of leaves that rise 40 feet to the canopy. It was not long before the female landed…

Fox seen in DE last weekend. Very mangey fox. This pair had two kits as well. Foxes run with their tail pointing straight back. This fox dug up turtle eggs along the roadside at Bombay Hook NWR.   Licking her chops… you can still see some of the yellow egg yolk on her lower jaw.…

With the spring baby boom in full swing I have been watching several pairs of Gray Catbirds around their nests this last week. The eggs have hatched and I have noticed the parents exhibiting different behavior. This is a ritual that is repeated every time either parent shows up with food near the nest. The…

The full moon rose over the Delaware Bay as we drove to our destination beach. We arrived later than I had hoped — the moon was high over the water already. No matter, the horseshoe crabs we moving and the kids were able to see what the big deal was. Large females were crowded by…

They hatched! My guess is that at least one Ruby-throated Hummingbird chick hatched yesterday, June 7, and the second one likely hatched today. By my calculations today would be Day 2. When I arrived at the nest site the female was away from the nest. 12 minutes later she came in and landed on the…

Thanks to all who responded to our quiz! Here are the answers and a couple of respondents’ processes to get to the correct ID: Image #1 was correctly ID’d by many as a Black-throated Green Warbler. Brandon B. wrote: My snap id was Pine Warbler. The olive back, dark wings and especially those white outer…