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Birding/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Birds acting strangely | 10/9/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: I've noticed some odd behavior lately with the wrens,and black birds in our yard. It began at the ... A: Interesting. The warmer weather this year has changed bird habits in many areas. Do you have ... | ||
| injured young cardinal- NE Ohio | 8/29/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: The cardinal hit the window and knocked itself out. I found her and put her in a box in our ... A: Best thing to do is contact your local wildlife/bird rehab center for help. If it is an immature ... | ||
| Re; Robins disappearing | 8/27/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I live in south eastern Wisconsin. I have also noticed that the robins have been vanishing from the ... A: Well, sure , Japanese beetles could have an effect. Some birds eat Japanese beetles and their grubs; ... | ||
| re: cardinal | 8/21/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I have a cardinal nesting in my backyard in a mulberry tree. I have been watching the process from ... A: Two weeks is about average for incubation time AFTER the last eggs is laid . (Gestation does not ... | ||
| cardinal gestation period | 8/21/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: I have a cardinal nesting in my backyard in a mulberry tree. I have been watching the process from ... A: This late in the season it is quite possible that the eggs are not fertile. With Bluebirds who have ... | ||
| Baby Female Cardinal | 8/20/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I found a baby female cardinal about two weeks ago. She is doing fine. My condern is that when she ... A: Yee. You need to let her go immediately. If you found her out of the nest she should be flying by ... | ||
| dead bluebirds | 8/9/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: I put out several houses, they had fun looking at them, going in and out at least 10 times for each ... A: When houses are torn up it is almost always raccoons unless you have bears in the area. You need to ... | ||
| I found two baby birds in a chimney. | 8/7/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I have found to baby chimney sweep birds in a chimney and i don't know what to do. I have been ... A: I don't know what kinds of birds these are so I can't give you specific advice. Best to contact your ... | ||
| Sick female Northern Cardinal at my feeder? | 8/6/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: sir. I believe I might have a sick female Cardinal at my feeders. It allowed me to walk right up to ... A: Pretty clearly, the bird has feather mites. That's certainly why the head is bald. Normally the ... | ||
| Unidentified Bird | 8/5/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I have attached a link to a video which plays a bird calling in my brother's backyard in the woods ... A: It's hard to be sure as the video sound quality isn't very good and the call/song is only a partial ... | ||
| bird nest & eggs exposed when bush top removed | 7/18/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: Will the mother bird return to her nested eggs if the nest has been disturbed? I trimmed the top of ... A: That's hard to say. Maybe and maybe not. It's just not predictable. Covering it as you did is the ... | ||
| First time bird mom | 7/16/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: Roger there is a bird nest in my yard with these little brown birds. My question is can a first time ... A: Parent birds do not give their young water. (There are a couple exceptions, but not in North ... | ||
| Quail nesting | 7/14/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: We have a quail who has laid 13 eggs in our above ground garden. She has been sitting on the nest ... A: Unfortunately this is not unusual in the bird world. For some reason eggs are sometimes infertile. ... | ||
| bird learning | 7/13/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I have a big problem in my yard with mainly robins. They think that every single bit of my property ... A: I have to begin by telling you that it is illegal - federal law - to shoot birds. They are protected ... | ||
| fledgling robin missing wing feathers | 7/10/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: I had a robins' nest in an arborvitae in my back yard. My crazy dachshund found it and knocked it ... A: It may seem harsh, but in situations like this it is best to let nature take its course. As it is ... | ||
| identification of bird | 7/7/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: we are trying to identify a bird mount that was given to a family member. Do you have any ideas ... A: I don't really know if there is any value, but I doubt it. These are common birds kept in zoos and ... | ||
| identification of bird | 7/7/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: we are trying to identify a bird mount that was given to a family member. Do you have any ideas ... A: It is a Brown Eared Pheasant, Crossoptilon mantchuricum. It is a large, up to 100 cm long, dark ... | ||
| Barn Swallow Baby/Fledging | 7/6/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: Five years ago barn swallows built a nest under our front porch. We have a huge window above our ... A: I am not being harsh, just realistic and pointing out what is best for the barnswallow species. Let ... | ||
| Barn Swallow Baby/Fledging | 7/6/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: Five years ago barn swallows built a nest under our front porch. We have a huge window above our ... A: Please do not do anything. Let nature take its course. A defective bird or animal should not join ... | ||
| Bluebird nesting | 7/2/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: We had a bluebird pair arrive in early June and nest in our box. (Actually chickadees had already ... A: Bluebirds will abandon babies if they are crawling with ants. That is why it is important to open ... | ||
| bluebird parenting | 6/30/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: We had a bluebird build a nest and raise baby birds in a birdhouse on our deck. There are 2 babies ... A: Great! Congratulations! And don't forget to send your mailing address to me at walshaw1@cox.net for ... | ||
| Yellow Baltimore Oriole? | 6/29/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I live in Plainwell, Michigan (just north of Kalamazoo) and we've seen a few basic Baltimore Orioles ... A: It is highly unlikely to be a Scott's or Audubon's. Yellow and Red (and thus orange) coloration in ... | ||
| detouring mud sparrow | 6/29/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: We would like to prevent mud sparrows from making a nest above our picture window. What works? They ... A: I have never heard of a mud sparrow. I suspect you are referring to Cliff Swallows. They will not ... | ||
| dead wren in nest | 6/28/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: We have a house wren nest with 5 babies. The babies are now 14 days old. Today, it looks like one ... A: This close to fledging I would not disturb them. We often find dead babies in nests after the others ... | ||
| Carolina Wrens die in nest | 6/25/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: Carolina Wrens made a nice nest in one of our bird feeders. I was thrilled because it seemed to be ... A: Some things we just don't understand. Certainly the yellow jackets ended the nest. They are very ... | ||
| snake baffles | 6/24/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: My morning started with the grim realization that a snake had emptied the nestbox that held 3 brand ... A: Pecked eggs are usually due to House Wrens, and in my experience and in talking with hundreds of ... | ||
| Male blue bird beating at window | 6/23/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: We've had a lot of b.birds in the past and never had this behavior. We have a male who is ... A: This is normal behavoir and many birds do it. He sees his reflection as competition. The advice we ... | ||
| dimond doves | 6/23/2011 | Miguel Rodriguez |
| Q: if a young dove looses its tail feathers will they grow back and how long will it take, the bird was ... A: I had no idea, so I googled it an there's ton of related posts. Here's one answer I found: "Yes ... | ||
| Baby house finch back in nest - will mom return? | 6/21/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: We had a house finch nest in a hanging basket outside our front door. All 5 eggs hatched and ... A: In situations like this where there is a weakling we recommend that you let nature take its course ... | ||
| Carolina Wren fledglings died in nest | 6/20/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: Carolina Wrens nest every year at our house (the carport, the eaves, a folded beach chair, ... A: Sorry about that. We often just don't know why baby birds die. Was there any pesticide spraying ... | ||
| robins: some dead, some missing | 6/20/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: We live in a suburb of Boston. Two days ago I spotted a small, perfect little nest hidden in a holly ... A: This is not unusual and Robins are especially vulnerable with their open and very visual nests. Many ... | ||
| bluebird parenting | 6/20/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: We had a bluebird build a nest and raise baby birds in a birdhouse on our deck. There are 2 babies ... A: Hopefully the parents are ignoring it to get it to leave. However if it is a runt or a weakling and ... | ||
| all bluebirds are gone | 6/17/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: I have/had a Mom/Dad/4 young adults from 1st clutch... second clutch hatched. I noticed that when I ... A: When nesting material is pulled up this usually points to a Raccoon. They can reach all the way to ... | ||
| Indentify | 6/14/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I thought this was a blue bird and was told that blue birds have a red breast, this bird was spotted ... A: It is an Indigo Bunting. A small finch with brilliant, almost iridescent, blue plumage. Crown is ... | ||
| Identity | 6/14/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: Please help identify this bird I've enclosed a photo, have searched too many bird books and online. ... A: It is a Barn Swallow, a distinctive bird with bold plumage and a long, slender, deeply forked tail. ... | ||
| where did the finches go? | 6/12/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I live in Minnesota. This spring there have been tons of finches around my house, but lately I am ... A: There are a couple of explanations. If these were Purple Finches, they normally breed in Canada, so ... | ||
| Purple finch nest/eggs | 6/10/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I live in NW Iowa and each year I have purple finches build a nest(s) in my hanging flower baskets. ... A: There is only one bird that lays its eggs in other birds' nests as a nest parasite and that is the ... | ||
| House Finch Eggs Missing and Abandoned Nest | 6/8/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: About two and a half weeks ago I noticed a bird's nest with one egg in a hanging planter on my front ... A: Well, I can speculate as to what happened but I don't really know for sure. But I can tell you that ... | ||
| Cardinals | 6/7/2011 | Roger Lederer |
| Q: I live in NJ and I have a cardinal that keeps "attacking" the mirrors & windows on my car. I have ... A: Cardinals and many other birds are territorial and when they establish territories in the spring ... | ||
| cardinals | 6/6/2011 | Bluebird Bob Walshaw |
| Q: I see at my birdfeeder a cardinal (male) who has lost the feathers on his head, and is starting to ... A: Hard to say. I am not an expert on bird diseases. Birds do molt and replace feathers, but most of ... | ||
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Birding
Answers by Expert:
Roger Lederer
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
Any and all about WILD birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.
Experience
Have a PhD and over forty years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, three bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 90 countries watching birds.
Education/Credentials
PhD in Zoology/Ornithology; Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences; former Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, Chico
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