BIRDING NEWS

It is always a special thrill to hear the call of an owl break the quiet of a wooded area or the still silence in the midst of a desert or mountain landscape. Owls use their voices to communicate with one another, to establish territories, and to attract mates and maintain pair bonds, similar to most birds. Despite their nocturnal reputation, you might hear owls calling at almost any time of the day. In fact, some species such as Short-eared Owls, Burrowing Owls, and Northern Pygmy Owls can be active and vocal during the day.

Last summer, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology welcomed 16 teenagers from around the world for the 14th annual Young Birders Event. These stellar young birders spent 4 days learning about career paths in ornithology, attending hands-on workshops with staff and scientists, and getting outdoors for lots of birding together. An exciting aspect of the post-Event activities was the collection of personal accounts written by each of the young birders that provide insights into what they experienced and learned while participating in the Young Birders Event.

Experience the excitement of raptor migration by visiting one of the more than 100 hawk watch sites across North America as birders celebrate International Hawk Migration Week (IHMW) from September 13 to 21. Enjoy the annual spectacle of fall raptor migration during this annual week-long event to raise the awareness of hawks, hawk migration, and the Hawk Migration Association network of Hawk Count sites that are an invaluable resource in raptor conservation and education. Last year 113 Hawk Count sites tallied more than 700,000 migrating raptors during International Hawk Migration Week.

Birding Festivals large and small take place during September, bringing people interested in birds together to share time in some impressive birding locations as bird migration gets into full swing. Festival events may include guided birding walks, field trips, expert presentations, educational workshops, avian exhibits, children’s events, and social gatherings. Each birding festival provides unique opportunities for experienced and novice birders to learn more about birds and other wildlife, while connecting with others interested in birds and birding.

Bottomland forests along the Upper Mississippi River provide important resources for a variety of nesting, migrating, and wintering bird species throughout the year. While these forests are some of the largest intact woodlands in the region, managing these forests for the future and for the benefit of associated wildlife is crucial to keeping this ecosystem productive for birds and people. Ongoing bird community surveys help us to understand habitat associations that inform and influence habitat management in the Upper Mississippi River Valley.

Although migration south is in its earliest stages, the August flights of kites, especially Swallow-tailed Kites, was already going strong by August 3rd. And the first Mississippi Kites are beginning to migrate too. The Florida Keys HawkWatch is the prime place to witness migrating Swallow-tailed Kites now, with as many as 311 counted August 3rd and 167 tallied last Sunday. But some hawks and Bald Eagles are also actively migrating, as evidenced by the early counts being posted at Braddock Bay near Rochester, New York. To date, Broad-winged Hawks are on the move (247 counted last Friday), along with Red-tailed Hawks (422 Friday), and Braddock counters have reported 9 species of raptors to date.

For most of the summer, the Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras is probably the most consistent and one of the most convenient places in the western North Atlantic to find a variety of pelagic seabirds on any given day. Seabirds typically associated with the Gulf Stream offshore from North Carolina are Black-capped Petrels, Audubon’s Shearwaters, Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, White-tailed Tropicbirds, Red-billed Tropicbirds, Masked Boobys, Bridled Terns, and Sooty Terns, but there is always the chance to see rarely sighted seabirds in season.

In addition to getting outdoors for a fresh level of activity and getting a little exercise in the process, engaging with nature and the simple act of birding can be a powerful pathway to improving your personal well-being. Birding offers a chance to clear your mind, walk at your own pace, and reconnect with yourself and the natural world. A search for birds always seems to help redirect your thoughts as you walk among trees or along the edge of a waterway. Spending time in nature, observing the behavior of birds, and simply visiting green spaces can have a profoundly positive impact on our mental health too.

Have you ever seen a downy puffin nestling? You will probably be surprised by what it looks like as it matures, and now you can see a puffin nestling and an occasional adult in a rocky crevice – a nesting burrow. The live puffin camera views give a glimpse inside and outside a puffin burrow, where puffins nest and loaf during the nesting season and for a time thereafter. You can also view nearby loafing areas where you can see Atlantic Puffins, possibly joined by Razorbills or a Common Murre – all very interesting seabirds found on Seal Island off the coast of Maine.

For the 103rd year, the Association of Field Ornithologists will hold their Annual Meeting, this year in Ogden, Utah, July 29 to August 1. The Association of Field Ornithologists (AFO) is one of the world’s major societies of professional and avocational ornithologists dedicated to the scientific study and dissemination of information about birds in their natural habitats. This year the Western Bird Banding Association (WBBA) is joining the AFO meeting to highlight the importance of bird banding in concert with broader bird research methods.

Birders from across the state are encouraged to participate in the New York Annual Loon Census, being held Saturday, July 19 from 8 to 9am to provide an annual “snapshot” of the nesting population of Common Loons in the state. Participants sign up in advance to watch for loons at a specific lake, then record their observations of loons on “their lake.” Over the years, results from this census have provided valuable information about the status and trends in New York’s summer population of Common Loons.

During one of the busiest months for outdoor activities of many kinds, birding festivals take a bit of a backseat during July; however, there are 2 top quality birding fests, including the Sedona Hummingbird Festival, which is hosted by the International Hummingbird Society. Located in picturesque Sedona, Arizona, this cooler high elevation region provides the chance to see 5 to 7 different species of hummingbirds and many other birds among a variety of habitats. Farther south, the Southwest Wings Birding & Nature Festival takes place in mountain birding sites surrounding Sierra Vista, Arizona.

Across the Atlantic, an annual international celebration of birds – the Global BirdFair – takes place July 11 to 13 in the center of England at Rutland. The Global BirdFair includes a program of events to interest all generations, including a variety of activities, guest speakers, many national and international sponsors and exhibitors that include optical equipment companies, conservation organizations, tourist boards, and ecotourism companies alongside exhibitors selling bird books and art, bird foods and birder foods, plus local produce and products. It’s big, and it’s exciting!

Your bird photos could be featured in the 2026 Birds Canada Calendar! Every year, bird photographers provide special glimpses into our birding world that bring the annual Birds Canada Calendar to life. Now is your chance to be part of it: Today through July 11th, birders are invited to submit your most beautiful, striking, or meaningful bird photos for the chance to have them featured in the 2026 Birds Canada Calendar. All skill levels of birders are welcome to submit your photos, whether you're a dedicated bird photographer or if you happened to be in the right place at the right time.

The main goal of AviList has been to combine the independent taxonomy lists for birds. In response, a new list of the world's bird species was released last week, with the official global bird total listed at 11,131 species. AviList is a multi-year effort to combine the previous taxonomic bird species lists into a single list that all parties agreed to thereby combining the previous primary world bird lists used: The American Ornithological Society Checklist and the eBird-Clements Checklist, the IOC (International Ornithological Congress) World Bird List, and the BirdLife International List.

Bird banding has been an important part of information gathering about birds for more than a century, and today researchers in the Great Lakes region are using lightweight, uniquely coded leg bands to learn about aspects of Piping Plover’s individual behavior. Biologists are studying nesting success, movements and migrations, lifespan and survival rates, and more – information that would be impossible to collect otherwise considering the complexities and vastness of the natural world. It’s a great example of the power of using color-coded bands that are more visible.

Ecovida HawkWatch is a relatively new raptor migration monitoring site located in northern Costa Rica, but it is already catching the attention of birders and ornithologists alike as a result of the impressive numbers of birds of prey being documented daily throughout the spring and fall migration periods. During the recent spring migration counts, hundreds of thousands of raptors were recorded as they migrated north – primarily Swainson’s Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks, and Mississippi Kites. Fall migration numbers are even more impressive!

It’s nesting season, and now you can see all the action at the nest sites of some exceptional birds of prey, specifically Peregrine Falcons, Great Gray Owls, and American Kestrels. Each of the live camera feeds give you close views of young broods of falcons, owls, and kestrels, and with the nestlings growing fast, you are likely to see an adult feeding the young birds – live and without concern for the many people watching remotely. Without these impressive live camera feeds available online, few people would ever see the action at a Peregrine Falcon or Great Gray Owl nest site – but it’s easy now.

While terns, skimmers, and shorebirds typically nest on beaches or islands along the coasts of Florida, some species that include Least Terns, Roseate Terns, Black Skimmers, and American Oystercatchers are increasingly using flat gravel rooftops to nest and raise young in the sunshine state. In response, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is thanking building owners and managers who have successfully hosted nesting birds on their roofs this season. Most rooftop nesting takes place between April and September in Florida.

Birders and researchers are invited to attend meetings of the Western Field Ornithologists (WFO), the Washington Ornithological Society, and the Colorado Field Ornithologists – all being held the weekend of June 5th to 8th. The WFO and Washington Ornithological Society are teaming up for the 2025 Annual Conference in Yakima, Washington this year. Each year Western Field Ornithologists holds a multi-day conference with the presentation of scientific papers, field trips, workshops, panels, a keynote address, the annual membership meeting, and other events.