An Ozark Naturalist

Everyone is familiar with House Sparrows, right? Even non-birds must be aware of them since the pestiferous little bastards are everywhere.

North America’s first encounter with this species took place in Brooklyn in the early 1850s. A number of birds were released in the hope that they would stop an outbreak of linden moth caterpillars. But intentionally […]

One evening in early February, I filled the bird feeders one last time before the day faded into darkness. Cold gripped the Ozarks and the birds would appreciate the easy calories. On a lark, I sat in the truck, using it for a blind to wait for my customers to return. As the minutes passed, snow […]

Does this goldfinch look odd to you?

I know goldfinches’ tails […]

Dayna and I were passing Willow Springs on our way to Springfield, when I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk on the roadside. This happens a lot when we’re traveling and most of the time we continue without stopping. However, if a bird is close to the road, in a good spot to try for a photo or […]

When Dayna and I go to Otter Slough, we enter and leave through Dudley. But on our last trip, we searched the fallow crop fields to the west, looking for the Short-eared Owl reported there in January.

We didn’t find the owl, though there were plenty of Horned Larks and Savannah Sparrows. While trying to photograph a […]