Bird & Nature Blog

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Red Touch Yellow

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If you grew up in the south, the range of the eastern coral snake, at some point you heard the thankfully easy to remember rhyme:

Red touch yellow
Kill a fellow
Red touch black
Friend of Jack

The poem refers to the color of two very similar looking but oh so different snakes. The eastern coral snake has bands of red, yellow, and black but the red bands are always next to the yellow. The kingsnake has the same color bands but red bands always touch black. Good to remember because the coral snake has the most potent venom of any American snake while the kingsnake is harmless (except to other snakes).

Photo by FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

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Action Alert: Stand up now for birds & the Migratory Bird Treaty Act

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The Trump administration is attempting to roll back major protections laid out in the 100+ year old Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), the most important bird protection law in the U.S. The administration is seeking to ease regulations on incidental take that will utterly dismantle existing protections. The changes will allow industries and corporations to kill untold numbers of protected birds without any legal penalty because they can claim they didn't intend to kill them. It's an egregious and unprecedented attack on our birds.

Photo by Arlene Koziol

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Learning from #BlackBirdersWeek

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Have you been following #BlackBirdersWeek? The events of the week have come to an end, but the discussion that this movement prompted is far from over. This week on the Entryway to Birding blog series, I’m setting aside time to reflect on what I’ve learned as I’ve followed the week’s events.

Read on for some highlights from #BlackBirdersWeek that you should be sure to check out, and for some reflection on the important actions that the birding community needs to take to ensure that everyone can enjoy birds—safely and without fear.

Photo from @BlackAFinSTEM

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The Road Paved with Good Intentions

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I doubt that many or, more probably, any Madison Audubon member is an overt, conscious racist. Probably most of us have the best of intentions with regard to race and our hopes for a just and fair society.

So my question: Where does the road paved with good intentions run?

Madison Audubon photo

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A Beginner's Guide to Finding Birds

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This week’s Entryway to Birding post is for those of you who are feeling pretty comfortable with your backyard bird IDs and are itching to see a new species! Maybe you’re eager to test out your ID skills, or maybe you want to venture to a new destination in search of a little more variety than the backyard can hold.

Where do you start looking? How do you know where to go? What might you expect to find at this time of year?

On one hand, the answer to these questions is as simple as getting outside and seeing what you find! On the other, it gets a little more complicated as issues of habitat, range, and migration patterns come into play. Getting a sense of what you might see, where you might see it, and when you might see it can feel like a big challenge to a new birder who is still learning the ropes.

Photo by Caitlyn Schuchhardt