October 2013
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! Click the corners of the cover above to see inside!
From the Editor
Four articles about discoveries
Articles about an out-of-range hummingbird, seawatching, and more provide convincing evidence that we are living in an age of discovery.
Features
The seawatching challenge
The authors of the new Peterson guide reveal the tricks experts use to
identify distant, fast-flying seabirds.
Once-in-a-lifetime hummingbird
Even Hurricane Sandy failed to budge a Rufous Hummingbird that spent the winter in Pennsylvania last year.
A rock that moves
How private landowners are luring the Mountain Plover from the native prairie to plowed fields.
Why I love birdwatching
How good binoculars, Aldo Leopold, and the death of the author’s parents combined to make him a birdwatcher.
Columns
Since You Asked
Answers to your questions
Why birds yawn, why it’s difficult to judge a bird’s size accurately, and where your birds are when they’re not at your feeders.
Birder at Large
Last birds
How far a birder will go to add missing birds to a life list.
Attracting Birds
Comfort and solace
How the healing power of birds outweighs the inconveniences of feeding.
Amazing Birds
The mystery of anting
The behavior is common and fascinating but not often seen.
ID Tips
Red-bellied Woodpecker
How to ID Red-bellied, Golden-fronted, and Gila Woodpeckers.
ID Toolkit
Feather groups
How groups of feathers combine to create stripes and patterns on the heads of songbirds.
Hotspots Near You
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169. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, Pennsylvania
A woodland preserve in eastern Pennsylvania where thousands of passing hawks are recorded each fall.
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170. Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, Duluth, Minnesota
A 315-acre woodland on a bluff overlooking Lake Superior where more Northern Goshawks are tallied than anywhere else.
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171. Bridger Mountains Hawk Watch, Bozeman, Montana
A ridge at 8,520 feet elevation that thousands of Golden Eagles fly past each fall.
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172. Hawk Hill, Marin Headlands, California
The site where more migrating raptors are seen than any other place in the Pacific states.
Also in Every Issue
Birding Briefs
Important news about birds, birdwatching, and conservation.
Your View
Reader-submitted photographs, including the winner of our regular Photo of the Week contest.