The Brown Creeper really has a name suited to it. If you have ever seen this bird creeping up and down trees, you’ll agree! It’s a joy to know that so many birds rely on trees in their ecosystems. Along with Woodpeckers, Flickers, Chickadees, and Nuthatches, Brown Creepers have a good and important relationship with…

“Secret Agent Man, Secret Agent Man….” I sing this to myself every time I see the White-breasted Nuthatch swoop down to land on our platform feeder. The White-breasted Nuthatch even looks like he is dressed in a tuxedo. The White-breasted Nuthatch is a bark forager. This means that they like to hunt for insects in…

Depending on where you live, the Common Loon may not be so common to you. Hear how Thornton W. Burgess introduces the Common Loon to the story in his classic The Burgess Bird Book for Children, Just then Honker was interrupted by wild, strange sounds from the middle of the Great River. It sounded like…

I remember when we first moved to North America from overseas everything was brand new to the kids. One day we were walking in a nature preserve and the kids marveled at the birds. They chose the perfect time, as a couple was walking by, to exclaim, “Geese! Geese! Look! Geese!” This made the couple…

Black-capped Chickadees are one of our favorite birds because they stay in our area through winter. They love to live among evergreen, willow, and birch trees along with Nuthatches and Woodpeckers. They are named after one of their calls: “Chick-a-dee-dee-dee” and are about the cutest birds you’ll ever see. According to allaboutbirds.org, Cornell Lab adds…

Cedar Waxwings are beautiful birds. For a while, I was on the hunt to see one because I knew that we lived within their year-round range. I first spotted them near Pictured Rocks Lakeshore in a little place called Au Train, Michigan. Au Train has a river flowing through it and a small inland lake.…

European Starlings seem to be everywhere during different seasons. If you look at their range, you’ll see that they cover almost all of North America. It’s amazing that these Starlings were first brought to North America by those who loved Shakespeare and now they cover almost the whole continent (allaboutbirds). European Starlings vs. Common Grackles…

When does the smallest bird create the biggest stir? Well, maybe all the time! We love tiny birds. They are amazing to see and to watch. Hummingbirds are always met with excitement and gratefulness as they return from the south each spring. I absolutely love our hummingbird feeder, which hangs right outside of my kitchen…

The Basics of this Burgess Bird A Loggerhead Shrike is a species of bird that many have probably never heard of before. I can say that was true for me before reading Thornton W. Burgess’ classic, The Burgess Bird Book for Children. They are a really incredible bird to learn more about. Since our first…

Sometimes we are so disconnected from the natural world that we need good reminders of how helpful animals can be when they live around us. We are always concerned about getting rid of pests, so I love to use the Burgess Books to help bridge the gap and give us a better insight to how…