October 2008

Beautiful, bi-monthly BirdWatching magazine (formerly Birder's World) appeals to every bird enthusiast — from backyard birdwatcher to serious birder. Subscribers receive helpful hints for attracting and feeding birds, handy identification tips, photography pointers, info about where to find birds, superb color photography, and much more!
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Features
Florida's raptor highway
By Mark Hedden
The sunny Florida Keys are where to go for the highest Peregrine Falcon totals of any North American hawk watch.
Kettle as big as Texas
By Joel Simon
The largest ­concentration of migrating raptors in the United States or Canada makes tiny Hazel Bazemore Park a hawk-watching powerhouse.
Lure of the list
By John Kricher
What every birdwatcher needs to know about the ever-changing AOU and ABA checklists.
Hotspots Near You
Four easy-to-get-to places to visit this autumn, with maps, bird lists, tips, ­driving ­directions, and more:
Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden, Los Angeles, California
By Jason Finley
West Rutland Marsh, West Rutland, Vermont
By Susan Elliott
Gordons Pond, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
By Jeffrey Gordon
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, Green Bay, Wisconsin
By Ty Baumann
Columns
From the Editor
Remembering Tom Vezo, photographer and friend.
Birding Briefs
Kirtland's Warblers breed outside Michigan again, AOU check-list changes, Black Swift colonies found, rare bird photos, and a new route for Whooping Cranes.
Birder at Large
The World Series of Birding turns 25.
ID Tips
Identify American Pipit.
ID Toolkit
How to identify terns by reading the light that passes through their wing feathers.
By David Allen Sibley
Amazing Birds
The ABCs of ducks, geese, and swans.
By Eldon Greij
On the Move
American Kestrel: How our smallest, most familiar falcon migrates.
By Paul Kerlinger
Bookshelf
Why we like the new one-volume Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America.
By Matt Mendenhall
New Products
GreenBird House, Recycled Peanut Feeder, Bird Magnet Suet Log, Nite Guard, and Squirrel Buster Mini.
From Our Readers
Your Letters
Solving a reader's grackle problem, praise for featured hotspots in Ontario and California, and more letters from readers.
Since You Asked
Why a swan is attracted to a paddleboat, why junco wing lengths vary, and what happens to dead birds.
Your View
Great photos from readers of a Plush-crested Jay, a Barn Swallow nest, plus a chance to win a field guide.
Resources
Ad Index
Links to every advertiser in the October issue.
Classifieds
Tours, lodging, feeders and seed, business opportunities, and more.
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