Spring Birding in Anchorage, Alaska

In late May, Vilis and I spent six days based in Anchorage, on Alaska’s southwest coast. As our jet approached the city, gaps in cloud revealed range after range of snow-capped peaks and snow-st...

Swinging a Beak Like a Pickaxe: Pileated Woodpecker

Kek-kek-kek! The pileated woodpecker’s loud, sharp call rings out in our northern Nova Scotia forests year-round. I always feel a thrill when I spot a pileated lurching its way around a tree tru...

The Owl with George Clooney Eyes: Barred Owl

Chocolate-brown eyes. Throaty voice. Handsome as all get-out. George Clooney, right? Undoubtedly, but the description fits a barred owl, tooooo. Vilis spotted the one in the photo at right while he an...

Gardening with the Birds

With the threat of rain in the forecast, I tilled a patch of well-drained soil early this morning and planted a salad garden in it – spinach, Romaine and leaf lettuces, Swiss chard, beets, red onion...