Dear Bird Folks, I just read about your recent trip to Florida and your search for scrub-jays. In your story you also talked about other birds, but you didn’t mention seeing any Limpkins. I’m headed south in a few weeks and would very much like to see one. Did you see...

Dear Bird Folks, As per your suggestions, I have put out a feeder filled with sunflower seeds and also have a heated birdbath. I’m getting quite a few birds, but is there something else I should also put out? I’d like to get even more birds. – Ed, Harwich, MA  ...

Dear Bird Folks, Other than their usual "caw, caw, caw" racket, the crows in my yard also make a chuckling sound. When they do that are they laughing at me or does that sound have a more significant meaning? I looked for an explanation on a crow website but my old...

A side trip south, One of the worst parts about working in retail is searching for new products at boring trade shows. (You might think it’s easy to find puffin-shaped toothpick holders, but it’s not.) One of the largest, and my least favorite, trade shows is the one...

Dear Bird Folks, I read in one of your recent columns that you have spent time in Australia. I’m planning a trip there myself and one of my goals is to see a Duck-billed Platypus. Any advice where I might find one, or are they too rare to even bother looking? – Peter,...

Searching for a Dovekie, Usually when I write a column about searching for a specific bird the story is all about me (of course) and my efforts to locate that bird. After all, who knows more about what I do than me? (Well, me and the Russian hackers.) Things were a...

Dear Bird Folks, As you probably know, owls have become popular in recent years. This led to a family discussion over the holidays. My sister claims the Great Horned Owl is our largest owl, while I think the Snowy Owl is the biggest. Who do you think is right? –...

Dear Bird Folks, I’m almost embarrassed to tell you how much I enjoy watching the birds. They brighten up every single day and are especially important to me during the winter. With the start of the New Year, I would like to know, in addition to providing food, water...

Dear Bird Folks, Recently, I was shopping for Christmas cards when I came upon a box of nature cards. The scene showed polar bears and penguins cuddling on a snowy night. I bought the cards, but on the way home I remembered that penguins and polar bears don’t live...

Dear Bird Folks, I'm reading a book that claims the House Sparrow isn't a sparrow at all; it is, in fact, an African weaverbird. But conflicting Web sites state that the House Sparrow actually is a sparrow. Bottom line, can I correctly tell my friends that I’ve seen...

Dear Bird Folks, Three weeks ago a strange bird showed up in my yard. After looking through my bird book it appears I had a Western Tanager, which is a rare bird for our area. Should I have reported it to someone, and if so, who? – Fran, Rye, NH   This is a tough...

Dear Bird Folks, I took the attached photo near Eastham’s First Encounter Beach and can’t seem to figure out what the bird is. Any idea? – Jeff, NY   Yes, I do, Jeff, I have an idea what that bird is, but first I have to give everyone else some background...

Dear Bird Folks, I’ve recently become interested in owls. It all started back in 2013 when the Cape was visited by an abnormally high number of Snowy Owls. Since then I’ve seen Great Horned Owls and had a screech-owl use the nest box in my backyard. The next owl on my...

Dear Bird Folks, I read on Mass Audubon’s weekly wildlife sightings that a Gray Kingbird is being seen in Hyannis, which I believe is a rare bird for Cape Cod. Do you know exactly where it was spotted and if it is still being seen? -Taylor, Yarmouth, MA   Thanks,...

Dear Bird Folks, All through October I watched a dozen ducks hang out in a rainwater filled cranberry bog near my house. The ducks had distinct green heads and bright yellow feet. I’m guessing they were green-hooded mergansers. Then suddenly, after Nov. 8th, they were...

Last one, This will be the last column (I promise) about my trip to Hawaii, and my pursuit of the unusual scarlet honeycreeper, aka ‘I’iwi. When I left off last week I was on the Big Island where I had gotten some advice from, Travis, a ranger at Hawaii Volcano...

Live from the Big Island: Last week I wrote about seeing the birds on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Kauai is really beautiful and the birds weren’t too bad either, but alas I didn’t see an ‘I’iwi, which is my goal. So, we flew to the Big Island, where hopefully I’ll...

The second trip: A few weeks ago I wrote about a trip my wife and I took to the Canadian Maritimes. While it was mostly a birding trip (at least it was for me), it was also a 40th wedding anniversary getaway. Since Canada was largely my idea, we decided to take a...

Dear Bird Folks, A few years ago you wrote a column in which you mentioned a guy (I forget his name) who predicts if we’ll see unusual birds on our feeders in the winter. Has the guy made any predictions for this winter? – Felix, Cataumet, MA   He’s Ron Pittaway,...

Dear Bird Folks, On a recent morning walk, I saw a Yellow Warbler feeding a brown bird (see photo). When I got home, I researched Yellow Warblers and learned that these birds are often victimized by Brown-headed Cowbirds. Is the warbler in my photo feeding a baby...

Dear Bird Folks, Over the years you have complained about outdoor cats. My cat, however, is a true housecat and never goes outside. Meanwhile, dogs are everywhere. I can’t even go for a nature walk anymore without seeing somebody’s dog running around. Why don’t you...

Anniversary Birding Trip(s): Next week marks forty years since my wife and I got married (to each other), so we decided to plan a trip in honor of the occasion. When she asked me where I’d like to go, my answer was the customary, “Someplace to look for birds.” As...

Dear Bird Folks, I read in one of your columns that birds sing in the spring to attract a mate. Well, the Carolina Wrens in my yard apparently donít read your columns because they are singing more than ever. Why are these birds singing now (in the fall)? Are they late...

Dear Bird Folks, I was in your shop the other day and noticed an odd sign that was attached to a barrel of safflower seed. The sign read: “Safflower should not be mixed with any other seeds.” Is there a reason for not mixing safflower or are you just being silly? –...

Dear Bird Folks, Last week the Cape Cod Times printed an article saying there’s a rat problem in Sandwich. One of the reasons given for the rat increase is that people are feeding birds year-round. They said birds should only be fed in winter. Surely you don’t agree? ...

Dear Bird Folks, In our yard we have two hummingbird feeders that have a total of eight feeding stations. We get lots of hummingbirds but never more than one at a time. I know they can be territorial, but I have seen pictures with clusters of hummingbirds on a single...

Dear Bird Folks, I’ve read your past columns on how birds manage to stay warm in the winter. The thought of those little things surviving subzero temperatures is mind-boggling. But with this recent extreme summer weather, I’m starting to wonder how birds can cope with...

Dear Bird Folks, Here are photos of four owls that we have been seeing in our backyard. I believe they are Barred Owls, but instead of hooting, they are making soft, high-pitched sounds. Are they, in fact, Barred Owls and do we often see them around here? – Clare,...

Dear Bird Folks, Why are all the crows around my house trying to sound like ducks? Instead of their usual harsh “caw,” the crows in my area give a double note call that sounds part “caw” and part “quack.” I’ve lived here for 35 years and this is the first year I’ve...

Dear Bird Folks, Last week I visited your shop and played a recording of a bird that has been singing in my yard all summer. You told me that the bird was a Song Sparrow. However, when I got back home and listened to Song Sparrows on my birdsong CDs, they sounded...

Dear Bird Folks, I’ve read online that a Chuck-will’s-widow is being heard singing near Sparrowhawk Road Landing in Orleans (MA). I would love to hear one of these birds. Do you know where Sparrowhawk Road Landing is? – Harry, Brewster, MA   Yes, I do, Harry, I...

Dear Bird Folks, I have an odd cardinal coming to my feeder. Instead of a red head and the typical cardinal crest, this bird’s head is small, round, black and featherless. Any idea what’s going on? – Carol, Hyannis, MA   Not this one again, Carol, When I first...

Dear Bird Folks, For years I’ve been trying to get birds to build a nest in my yard. I’ve even made several birdhouses, but have had no luck. Then today I discovered a nest in the cover of my propane tank. I think it belongs to a wren. My question is: Why would a wren...

Dear Bird Folks, The Checklist of the Birds of Cape Cod claims that Upland Sandpipers breed on the Cape, yet I’ve birded around here for years and have never seen one. Where should I be looking? – Susie, Yarmouth, MA   Good for you, Susie, Good for you for using...

Dear Bird Folks, I know you get a lot of questions, so I hate to bother you, but this odd bird really has me stumped. Recently, on a morning bike ride to Eastham’s First Encounter Beach, I saw these birds flying over the dunes (see photo). Then one landed in a tree....

Western Mass, part two: This is the second of a two-part column about a birding trip my wife and I took to Western Massachusetts. In last week’s piece I talked about birding Quabbin Reservoir’s massive (and often ignored) wilderness area. When I left off, we had just...

A trip to the near west: A few weeks ago a customer came in and purchased a copy of Bird Finding Guide to Western Massachusetts. After taking the guy’s money, I started wondering why I don’t do more birding in Western Mass. After all, the Berkshires are beautiful, but...

  FYI: The following is an update of a column I wrote years ago. It’s a question that never seems to go away, no matter how many times I answer it. I feel like the veterinarian who has to repeatedly explain that a dog’s dry nose is not a sign of illness…only vets...

Dear Bird Folks, I was at my favorite pond this morning, trying to get some shots (photographic shots) of Wood Ducks, when I heard something above my head. It was a Red-bellied Woodpecker hammering on a branch. I didn’t pay much attention until I realized that the...

Dear Bird Folks, Where is the Cape’s “hawk watch”? Often in Mass Audubon’s weekly list of wildlife sightings, a large number of hawks are reported at the hawk watch, but it never says where it is. Do you have any idea where this mythical hawk watching location is? –...

Dear Bird Folks, I’ve been told that we should take our birdfeeders down in May. With the improving weather, the birds now have plenty of natural food to eat and therefore, don’t need our handouts. Do you agree with this? – Eric, Barnstable, MA   No, no, no,...

North Carolina, continued: Last week I wrote about a birding trip (and snake encounter) that my wife and I took to the Outer Banks in NC. After leaving the Banks we headed south, towards Wilmington, but on the way I wanted to stop at the famed Alligator River National...

A quick trip to the Outer Banks: After forty years of educating the children of Cape Cod, my wife decided that the local kids were finally smart enough and she has retired from teaching. This meant for the first time ever, we could travel when it wasn’t school...

Rare bird sighting in Orleans (and this is true). For years I’ve been reading and writing about folks who have had unusual birds coming to their yards. Every time I hear about, say, a Western Tanager, a Rufus Hummingbird or a Painted Bunting at a feeder, I wonder:...

Dear Bird Folks, My son (who is in the second grade) and I were taking a bird walk along a cranberry bog near our house, when we spotted what we think is a Little Blue Heron. Just thought you’d like to know in case you wanted to check it out. - Melanie and Ryan, East...

Dear Bird Folks, My son (who is almost nine) loves your store and is interested in birds. Do you know if there are any birding programs on the Cape for kids? Thanks. - Colleen   You have a smart kid, Colleen, While I can’t say for sure how he does in school, if...

Dear Bird Folks, You might not remember me, but last summer I asked you why I wasn’t getting any hummingbirds and you said that I may have put my feeder out too late. I don’t want to be late again this year, so when do you suggest I put my feeder out? – Samantha,...

Dear Bird Folks, Last week I was flying my remote controlled drone over the beach when an owl (see video clip) flew out from the dune grass. Can you tell what kind of owl it is? – Bradley, Hyannis, MA   Uh-oh, Bradley, Two years ago my wife gave me a drone for...

Dear Bird Folks, For years we have been reading about the battle between the lowly Piping Plovers and those mean SUVs. But recently I heard that a new plover-friendly plan has been agreed upon. Apparently this plan would keep vehicle traffic off the beaches, while at...

Dear Bird Folks, I heard on the radio that local birders are all excited about a loon that was spotted in Provincetown. Why all the excitement? Is it because loons aren’t often seen on Cape Cod? – Ian, Falmouth, MA   Not this time, Ian, Ordinarily, I would make...