Laura Erickson's For the Birds

It's comprehensive and includes birds of Hawaii now, but is too big to carry in the field, and the font is much too small to be readable for me.

What's a cattle egret doing just outside Duluth around Halloween?

Laura talks about how she protects herself from sunburn, bug bites, and falls while traveling, and also how she manages her heavy equipment in her dotage.

Laura is trying to keep her body fit and healthy so she can keep birding.

Now that Laura's in her seventies, she's developed a few strategies for keeping her mind and body fit for birding tours.

A Black Phoebe, a species of the American Southwest not known for wandering, showed up at Gooseberry Falls this weekend.

On Saturday, Laura saw a brand new, long-coveted state bird for Minnesota--a Chestnut-collared Longspur

Laura tells us about her experiences with a group of little birds that were once considered sparrows.

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.