June 2021

June 2021

Welcome to the June issue of Watching Backyard Birds! If you live near bright lights, flat roofs, or trees, listen for the beard call of the common nighthawk feeding on the wing above your backyard on warm evenings. Also, there's something about a fledgling that makes people want to rescue it, but columnist Julie Zickefoose urges folks to resist the temptation to carry out a well-intentioned abduction. Lastly, our hairiest columnist answers reader questions about bald cardinals, Nyjer's short shelf life, easy-to-clean feeders, and when to prune your trees. Find all this and more!

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Issue Features

Species Profile: The Common Nighthawk by Dr. David Bird

My Backyard: Nighthawks in My Neighborhood by Dawn Hewitt

Watcher at the Window: Friendly Adbuctions by Julie Zickefoose

10 Fascinating Sights to See in Your Summer Backyard by Bill Thompson, III

Short Stories from Al by Al Batt

Ask Birdsquatch

If you live near bright lights, flat roofs, or trees, listen for the beard call of the common nighthawk feeding on the wing above your backyard on warm evenings. Photo by G.L. Clark / Wikimedia.

Departments

Editor’s Note

Bird Bites: Best Practices for Summer Bird Feeding, Rule 1: When Feeding Birds, Do No Harm and Birds’ Legs Are Really Their Feet!

Redstart Birding

Feeding hummingbirds sugar water this summer? A four-parts water to one-part white, granulated table sugar mimics the nectar found in native flowers. Photo by B. Thompson, III.
Featured Freebie
Tips for Easy Bird Identification
Tips for Easy Bird Identification
Identifying birds is at the very heart of bird watching. Each bird encountered is like a little puzzle or mystery to solve, because, while birds of a single species all share a certain set of physical traits, no two individual birds, like no two individual humans, are exactly alike.

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