Annual Christmas Bird Counts add to knowledge of bird population trends
Photo by USFWS • A total of 15 pileated woodpeckers were counted on the recent Christmas Bird Counts conducted …
Viewpoint
It’s still Christmas
By Connie Denney
What better than memories of Old Christmas celebrations to inspire reconnection with a friend? In this case …
Birds make news in 2021, but stories come to an end for some species
At age 70, Wisdom the Laysan albatross became a mother again in 2021.
By Bryan Stevens
Our feathered friends …
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Farmers make Christmas happen
By Ralph Hood
Farming communities — and farming people—are different. I wrote this on a flight returning from Pocatello, Idaho …
Endangered Species Act hits milestone
By Bryan Stevens
Photo by Pixabay • Birds like the whooping crane continue to exist on the planet thanks in …
Tufted titmouse is definitely a bird worth a second look
By Bryan Stevens
Don’t dismiss our feathered friends as “bird brains.” They’re smart. They demonstrate that fact in various ways. …
Sales of local calendar fund bird-worthy aims
The front cover of the 2022 bird calendar produced by the Elizabethton Bird Club features a photo of a …
I must confess
By Ralph Hood
My mother once worked for the Russians! Horrors!
Well, actually, it was only one Russian.
The Russians …
Turkeys turn the tables in some areas of country as numbers rebound over past decades
Photo by Jean Potter • A wild turkey struts his stuff in a field.
By Bryan Stevens
Celebrated in …
Bird of mystery, black rail famed for eluding birders
Photo by AGAMA/Adobe Stock • The black rail is a secretive, rarely seen bird of wetlands and marshes. Much smaller …
A few words about the appeal of boiled peanuts
By Ralph Hood
Boiled peanuts will be the death of me yet.
Although the surgeon general has not yet announced …
Thank goodness for such a fantastic fall
By Bryan Stevens
I’ve chucked the pumpkins now that Halloween is in the rear-view mirror. As I turn the page …
Hatchery a happening place in Erwin
A field of cosmos blooms on the ground of the Erwin National Fish Hatchery.
By Connie Denney
The flowers …
Inspiration for column started with arrival of dark-eyed junco
The dark-eyed junco, affectionately known as “snow bird,” is a winter resident in Unicoi County.
By Bryan Stevens …
American crow’s dark reputation arises more from plumage than behavior
By Bryan Stevens
There’s something rather autumnal about watching a flock of American crows glean the last scattered kernels …
Barn owl adds to ghostly reputation of its kin
Photo by mikezwei from Pixabay • The barn owl is the most widespread of the world’s owls. Almost exclusively …
The pink bomb
By Ralph Hood
While I was off for my freshman year at Clemson, Daddy for some reason bought one of …
We should protect the planet’s plants
By Frances Lamberts
A moving reminiscence about man’s relationship to nature opens one of the less well known books of …
Regional Fall Bird Count finds 129 species
Photo from Pixabay • A red-headed woodpecker clings to the trunk of a tree. During the recent Fall Bird …
Speedy merlin a feisty member of world’s family of falcons
Photo by Gary Chambers from Pixabay • The merlin is a small but compact falcon, built for speed and …