Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove

Mourning Doves are one of our most common birds, with a US population estimated at 350 million. Indeed, if you were asked to design a bird that would thrive in the present day, you would come up with the features of a Mourning Dove.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

2024 Madison-area Christmas Bird Count

As I write this, the snow is falling in the most delightful way. The chickadees are flitting about as if to encourage and confirm that winter birding is fun and productive! Little do they know, a community of hundreds of volunteers combed the city on Saturday, counting them and their feathered comrades for the Madison-area Christmas Bird Count.

Photo by Gail Smith

American Tree Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

As I make my way around the frozen Kettle Pond at Faville Grove Sanctuary, flocks of American Tree Sparrows flutter from weed patch to weed patch, foraging along the snow-dusted ground and knocking seeds loose from the tops of dried plants.

Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar