Ask The Bird Folks
Mike O’Connor, the owner of Bird Watcher’s General Store, wrote the popular article, Ask the Bird Folks, for The Cape Codder newspaper every week for over 22 years. His goal, is to answer some of life’s most challenging questions. You know, bird questions.
Read through the most recent and past articles below, consisting of questions asked by readers and real people like you, and maybe you’ll learn enough about birds to write your own article.
Also popular were the bird illustrations by Catherine Clark that accompanied Ask the Bird Folks from the beginning. Her drawings can be found hanging on refrigerator doors throughout the country.
Keep your eyes on this page ─ if Mike writes more articles, they will show up here.
Broad-winged Hawks
Dear Bird Folks, Occasionally, a Cooper’s Hawk will chase the birds at our feeder. Today, however, a hawk ignored the birds and instead dove into our rather tall grass and came out with a chipmunk. Any idea what kind of hawk it is? (See attached photo.) – Cass,...
Northern Wheatear
A surprise Northern Wheatear: Ever heard of a wheatear? If you haven’t, here’s a hint - it’s a bird. Does that help? Earlier in the month I wrote a column about spotting an American White Pelican flying over Orleans. This is a rare sighting for Cape Cod, but the bird...
The Killdeer Broken Wing Act
Dear Bird Folks, We’ve all heard the expression, “performing the broken wing act.” Do birds actually do that or is it basically an urban myth? – Fred, New London, CT Not a myth, Fred, Birds really do perform the broken wing act. But don’t worry, there are still...
White Pelican Over Mill Pond, Orleans
An American White Pelican over Orleans: I don’t want to take away anything from the late Dr. King, but I too have a dream. Only mine isn’t a society altering metaphorical dream. My dream is more like a bird-related nightmare, and I have it on a regular basis. No...
Fall Molting
Dear Bird Folks, The birds on my feeder have been looking a little bedraggled lately. Do you think it’s because of the long hot summer we’ve just gone through? Will they ever recover? – Ellie, Sandwich, MA No, Ellie, The birds aren’t bedraggled from the long,...
Osprey Migration and Other Topics
It’s after Labor Day: There once was a time when Labor Day meant vacationers headed home and kids went back to school, but COVID has made things a little less certain than they used to be. Regardless, I just found out that one thing is certain: the newspaper has an...
Flock of Great Egrets
Dear Bird Folks, Please find the attached photo of a big flock of tall white birds that were gathering in Rock Harbor Creek. Any explanation what is going on? Could it be an indication of a tough winter ahead or perhaps it’s a town meeting? – Rick, Rock Harbor, MA...
Get Rid Of Wasps Without Poison
Dear Bird Folks, Last week you declared it was safe for us to put our birdfeeders out again, but you didn’t mention anything about birdbaths. Are they okay to put out now, too? - Eric, Chatham, MA Just to be clear, Eric, I only pointed out reports that...
Cornell Merlin Bird App
Dear Bird Folks, My daughter is all excited about the new Merlin app for identifying bird songs. She loves it and says it finds birds in her yard she never knew she had before. Do you have it and if so, what do you think? – Fahy, Duxbury, MA Got it, Fahy, I got the...
Our Very Own Osprey Nesting Pole
Good news stories, part two: Last week I wrote how about Stephanie from Wild Care treated the mites on the baby flycatchers in my nest box. I know that sounds creepy, but it actually wasn’t that bad, and the little birds are doing just fine. She also told me how to...
Good News Stories
Two good news topics: Due to the uncertainty caused by a mysterious avian illness, backyard bird watching has taken a hit recently. So, I’ve decided to change things up a bit this week and write two different positive stories. The first one is about everyone’s...
Mystery Quail on Cape Cod
Dear Bird Folks, The bird in the attached photo has been coming to my friend’s yard for the last few days, but it’s not in any of my Cape Cod bird books. Any idea what it is? – Bruce, Brewster, MA Not Brewster again, Bruce, I don’t know what is going on in your...