Brad

Here is a slideshow of the nine species of woodpecker that can be commonly found in New Hampshire. For the record that would be: the pileated woodpecker, the red-headed woodpecker, the red-bellied woodpecker, the black-backed woodpecker, the three toed woodpecker, the downy woodpecker, the hairy woodpecker, the northern flicker, and the yellow-bellied sapsucker. See a collection of pictures and learn identification tricks for each of these species. Note that these birds are not only New Hampshire natives, but range from Canada down the east coast of the United States and some of these birds are found throughout whole country.
Woodpecker Identification Pictures

In our attempt to help birds with birdfeeders, we may be increasing the likelihood that they will crash into our windows. Millions of birds are killed each year by flying into windows that look like just more open sky because they are so reflective from the outside. Here’s a simple recommended solution to help save birds, one at a time.
Prevent Birds from flying into your windows.

Invasive species are those plants or animals that have been artificially transported to a place outside of their natural range and in which they have no or few natural predators or other constraints upon their population growth. Even the smallest of these invasive species can cause tremendous damage to the new areas. Take for example the Japanese Beetle. This insect pest has become so common in many parts of the United States that people forget that it isn’t native ot North America and has only been here since about 1920. Each year the Japanese Beetle causes untold millions of dollars of damage to backyard gardens and commercial farms alike.
Larger invasive species may either eat or outcompete native species. The Asian Swamp Eel in NJ poses such a threat to turtles, fish, and many other native species that some have advocated turning the tables and adding the Asian Swamp Eel to local restaurant menus.
Florida, because of it’s tropical nature and vast expanse of swampland, is having a particular problem with pythons. Pythons are often imported as pets, but may grow too big for their owners to handle. As a result many are released into the wild each year. In the Florida swamps, a mature python instantly becomes the top predator in the ecosystem. Florida pythons have even been known to feast on alligators, although most of their diet consists of birds, small mammals, and anything else they can swallow whole.
Florida is now licensing hunters to trap and kill the invasive python in an effort to eradicate them from the state. Meanwhile, however, it is still legal to import pythons for the pet industry, so even if they are completely wiped out of the Florida swamps, they will likely be reintroduced as new pet owners find the snakes too hard to handle when they start growing longer than ten feet. Snakes are longlived and choosing to take a python or other large non-native snake as a pet is a long term decision. If you can’t envision your living conditions, financial outlook, or family situation ten years or more down the road, then buying one of these exotic large snakes is definitely the wrong choice.





A new report by the US Fish and Wildlife Service shows that birdwatchers spend more than $35 billion dollars each year in pursuit of their hobby. This translates into big business for many states that draw large numbers of out of state birders and show that states and local communities have a strong financial incentive to protect bird habitat and promote it for public use. Working with local land conservation agencies should be a strong priority for communities that want to attract birding dollars to their local buinesses. Read the full report on the business of birdwatching here.

NH has a crow hunting season. Farmers need a hunting license to lower the crow populations around their fields, but many view crow hunting season as sport. There are no bag limits at all. This article has details about crow hunting season and even some crow meat recipes. Complete schedules, license information, and everything you might want to know about crow hunting season is there.

Many birds are social creatures to some extent. That’s why many birds sing to communicate, and even use different songs, calls and intonations for different meanings. They may flock together for all or part of the year or they may only be social within the context of their own immediate families. In either case, ensuring that others within their flock or family get food and, conversely, sharing the food that others find, is a survival benefit for most birds. Many birds have distinct calls or songs that they use when plentiful food is available.
Read the full story about birds singing to alert others to food sources.

National Geographic Birder’s Journal, 2d Edition

I own this book and use it frequently. The National Geographic Birder’s Journal is designed for birdwatching enthusiasts who want to keep a permanent record of all the different species of birds that they’ve seen. Each page has a space for recording the time, place and circumstance where a particular bird was seen. On the opposite side of the page are detailed illustrations, often including juveniles and both sexes of adults, in order to help you make a positive identification. There is also a handy checklist section so you can quickly and easily determine if this particular species is one you’ve already recorded, or if it is a life bird for you. The book is geared for North American birds, but has an extensive section which includes accidentals and extinct species, just in case.
The Kaufman guide (link below) has somewhat better pictures including multiple view and angles of the different birds and is better for identification purposes in my opinion. It has a plain vanilla checklist, to note life birds, but does not have the space for notes to record the details of the sighting. However, whenever I go birdwatching, the Kaufman Guide is the book I take with me. We record new birds in the Nat. Geo. Journal after we get home.
Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America


Steven Chu, the recently appointed US Secretary of Energy and a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, said on May 26th of this year, that if we changed our roof color to white and also made our roads a lighter color instead of black, that we’d make a substantial impact in reducing global warming. The effect, he said in a report published by The Independent, would be the same as if we removed all the cars from roads for a period of 11 years. There’s actually scientific evidence to back this up.

Read the full article : Will a White Roof Save the Planet?

Did you ever wonder what the numbers mean on binoculars? Which is better 8×32 or 10X30? Find out how to choose a good pair of binoculars for birdwatching or any other purpose. How to choose good Birdwatching binoculars. Everythign you need to know about binocular features and specifications without getting too technical. Whether you need good binoculars for birding field trips or for birdwatching in your backyard, you’ll learn what you need to know about binoculars at the linked article. It also has a list of places near Manchester, NH where you can buy binoculars.

Audubon scientists point out that birds already threatened by habitat loss and encroaching suburbia, are now being further displaced by the effects of climate change. BirdLife’s Dr. Stuart Butchart was quoted in the release as saying “There is now plenty of evidence that bird species are shifting their ranges northwards and to higher altitudes, and that their timing of breeding and migration is shifting forwards in response to climate change.”

A number of birds of interest to New England birders have had their natural range changed as a result of climate change. A few are listed in this article which gives much more information about shifting bird ranges.