Laura Erickson's For the Birds

When Laura was in Guyana, she fell in love with this stunningly beautiful bird, a species that is globally endangered thanks to the pet trade.

Laura's Guyana trip this year was led by one of the best bird guides Laura has ever spent time with. What makes a good bird guide truly great? Laura will be doing a live Zoom presentation about her Guyana trip for subscribers (free or paid) of her Substack blog next Tuesday night (October 21 at 7 pm CDT). The program will be recorded and made available on her website.

How can we find owls on our own?

The more bird banders learn about owls, the more questions they have.

After saw-whet owls molt out of their baby feathers in summer, it's impossible to look at any Northern Saw-whet Owl and know what sex it is or how old it is unless it's in the hand and we're armed with measuring tools and a black light.

Laura got to spend Saturday night watching saw-whet owls get banded at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory.

Birds flying at night must avoid collisions with obstructions as they take off and land, and with one another as they cruise along. How do they do it?

Park Point's been a happenin' place this week! A couple of extremely rare vagrants were there for days or at least hours, but Laura wasn't as lucky as she wished.

How can birds find their way in the dark? The answer is nuanced, so today's program is condensed from the much longer blogpost.

Why do birds with poor night vision migrate at nighttime?

Laura got a crush on the boy in front of her in homeroom sixty years ago this week!

Thirty-one years ago, Laura and her family had some very memorable experiences with two baby flickers.

How can some birds survive a Minnesota winter while others must leave?

When the American Ornithological Society's Committee on Classification and Nomenclature announces their annual changes to the official Checklist, birders take notice!

Even as species decline, bird migration is thrilling to behold.

Laura's world seems fresher, more magical, and genuinely miraculous now that she's a grandma.

For many birds, the end of summer marks the beginning of spanking new feathers. Too bad adults have to go through that awkward molt to get them.

Laura talks about hummingbirds and gives some tips to make life better for our backyard hummingbirds.

Horrible news on the bird as well as human front is making it hard for Laura to keep up.

Laura’s many visits to Florida have forged beautiful memories of family, friends, and birds. But she’ll not be returning while the state hosts and even celebrates horrifying ICE facilities, including a concentration camp within the Everglades.

One of Laura's readers got photos of a Blue Jay sunbathing, or "sunning," last week, reminding Laura of when she first learned about this interesting behavior. His photos, along with information about a similar behavior called "anting," are on Laura's blog entry.

On July 14, BB the Pileated Woodpecker turned up in Laura's yard with a daughter!

Back in 2022, Laura was interviewed by a writer for LIFE magazine. It totally slipped her mind until one of her friends read the article, which is on newsstands now.

Watching backyard nests can be very joyful, when starlings or predators don't intervene.

As much as Laura loves watching baby birds, she is very reluctant to look for nests.

Birds don’t ostracize individuals from their social flocks based on “objective sex-based differences.” That would undermine their civil society.

Birds don’t ostracize individuals from their social flocks based on “objective sex-based differences.” That would undermine their civil society.

One of Laura's readers was distressed by the last episode of "For the Birds." Laura stands by every word. We can protect our pets from diseases and also protect our backyard birds with one simple, straightforward rule: If your pets get flea and tick protection, don’t set out their fur for nesting birds.

Treatments to protect dogs (and us!) from insect bites turn out to make that pet fur, and our own treated clothing, dangerous for birds.

It's been over 4 months since Laura saw her beloved BB, but now he's back!

Four-year-olds should not have any concept of the Air Quality Index. What world are we bequeathing them?

Laura thinks the sudden surge in Red-headed Woodpeckers in her neck of the woods may be due to emerald ash borer and the sudden surge in dead ash trees.

In many ways birds are superior to us humans, and also luckier. This is exactly the kind of program that has inspired some people to call Laura the "Dr. Ruth of Ornithology." The accompanying blog post has a lot of worthwhile photos listeners might want to see.

This bird of machismo and contradiction keeps scientists guessing.

Laura doesn't like the idea of bucket lists, but she does have a wish list.

Laura feels wealthy in ways Elon Musk or Donald Trump never will.

Laura's trip to Florida's Dry Tortugas was a wonderful success.

Laura and her birding buddy Bernie went to Chamber's Grove last Wednesday to see the annual visit by hundreds of American White Pelicans.

Laura reflects on this year's Earth Day compared to the first Earth Day in 1970.

Laura talks about taking photos through window glass.

Laura is headed to South America next month, and is studying up.

Laura leaves next Friday for a birding tour of Florida's Dry Tortugas.

Laura was ready with her camera to capture an exciting interaction between a Common Merganser and a northern pike.

Laura claims she's done thinking about the number of birds on her many bird lists.

Woodcocks are back in the Northland, much to Laura's delight.

The longstanding sponsors of "For the Birds" have updates: Billionaire Earth Angel is embarking on a new project to prove people were banding birds 45,000 years ago, and Jim Baker just added a new, secret ingredient to his already perfect Baker's Blue Jay Blend.

Of the seven species of woodpeckers on Cuba's official checklist, one is almost definitely extinct and one has appeared in the country only as an extremely rare vagrant. Laura saw all five of the others on her February visit to Cuba.

Seeing Bee Hummingbirds in Cuba last month filled Laura with joy.

During this bird flu outbreak experts are cautioning people to leave bird carcasses where they are, even though functionally illiterate eagles, dogs, and other creatures have been infected by these carcasses. Laura made a decision about how she will handle this situation if a carcass turns up in her yard.

Every spring it's important to make sure our feeders are safe for birds. During this bird flu outbreak, this is more important than ever.