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The Helpful Birder

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Where to Find Birds

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Not All Blue Birds are Bluebirds

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How Nature Reuses Its Resources

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Species Spotlight: Swallow-tailed Kites

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    General Birding

    My Favorite Facebook Birding Resources

    I have found Facebook to be an invaluable resource for increasing my birding skills. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite resources on Facebook in the hopes that…

    March 19, 2020
  • My Bird Species Bucket List
    General Birding

    My Birding Bucket List

    When I went to Bird Fair in England in August of 2019, one of the speakers I heard was Dominic Couzens, a British birder and author. He gave a presentation about…

    March 19, 2020
  • Backyard Birding General Birding

    How to Attract Painted Buntings to Your Yard

    Painted buntings are one of my favorite birds. They’re so colorful and active. Because painted buntings in Florida they only show up for a few months during winter, they’re also sometime…

    March 19, 2020
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thehelpfulbirder

It’s baby season! The parents of these Northern Mo It’s baby season! The parents of these Northern Mockingbirds are running the ragged. They’re so cute though! (iPhone photo)
Life bird 356 (US) / 527 (World) was the unique Ph Life bird 356 (US) / 527 (World) was the unique Phainopepla. The white feathers in their wings aren’t apparent at rest but they show up so distinctively in flight. Please swipe to see an additional closer crop of this same image.

Not that anyone is keeping count, but I skipped a bird because the photo looks too much like the moth photo I posted yesterday. I’ll work it back in later 🤣

I hope everyone had a wonderful Earth Day! 🌎🌱🌳
A little bird break, here’s a hungry White-lined S A little bird break, here’s a hungry White-lined Sphinx Moth at the Desert Museum. It was so active!!!
Did I ever tell you about the time I got to meet t Did I ever tell you about the time I got to meet the Ravenmaster? This is me with Chris Skaife, former Tower of London Ravenmaster and author of the book by the same name. If you enjoy history and birds, I think you’ll enjoy the read! 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛
More Arizona lifers! The first one is 352 / 523, More Arizona lifers!

The first one is 352 / 523, a Black-throated Sparrow. He was singing his little heart out!

353 / 524 was a White-crowned Sparrow. I saw them but the photos are useless, so I didn’t include one.

354 / 525 is a Canyon Towhee, the second photo. It’s bad so I’m hiding it in a carousel. Unfortunately I only saw this species once.

All three were in Saguaro NP near Tucson. The numbers are their spots on my US list and worldwide list, respectively.

#arizonabirds #arizonabirding #tucsonarizona
When do you put birds on your life list? I will ev When do you put birds on your life list? I will even if I only hear them, as long as I’m with someone knowledgeable who recognizes the call or song. 

So for me, the Verdin I saw in AZ weren’t lifers, but it was the first time I’d seen one, much less photographed it. I saw two actively nest building and both had a huge mouthful of material! This particular individual was taken in the Saguaro National Park, near Tucson.

#verdin #saguaronationalpark #tucson #arizonabirds
I had hoped to get a shot of a Cactus Wren (351/52 I had hoped to get a shot of a Cactus Wren (351/522) on a saguaro cactus, and I’m happy to say it worked out fairly well! I saw and heard this species at several locations in the Tucson and Phoenix, but this was my classic. If I had more time, I’d probably have spent it looking for an even better example!

Numbers in parentheses are their spots on my US list and world list, respectively.
I’m going to start posting my lifers from our rece I’m going to start posting my lifers from our recent trip to Arizona, plus a couple of non-lifers that I’d never photographed before. Starting here with the Gambel’s Quail (349/520) and the Gila Woodpecker (350/521) perched on a saguaro cactus. 

I didn’t get a shot I love of the Gila, so I’m burying it in a carousel 😉🙄😆 That photo is actually from the Saguaro National Park near Tucson.

Numbers in parentheses are their spots on my US list and world list, respectively.
A Harris’s Antelope Squirrel for #nofeathersfriday A Harris’s Antelope Squirrel for #nofeathersfriday - one minute it was there and then it was gone!
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Red-cockaded woodpecker foraging for food in the woods at St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge in Wakulla, Florida (not far from Tallahassee)
Red cockaded woodpecker
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Recent Posts

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