Articles I Have Written – Beyond the Field Guide

16

Sep

Anthropomorphism

We human beings who love animals are often tempted to see or to assign human characteristics in them or to them, and there are experts/professionals who deplore this practice. It is called ‘anthropomorphism’ which means humanizing those who are not human – in this case birds. However, I am not in agreement with these experts/professionals. […]

09

Sep

Choosing a Field Guide – or Field Guides. You can never have too many!

Before I discuss online field guides, bird apps, and field guide books, I will tell you what I prefer – field guides that are books. Keep in mind, this is a personal preference and I think it is partly a generational thing. I lived part of my life before cell phones and the internet. I […]

30

Aug

Canada Geese and Cackling Geese – How to Tell These Species Apart

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) and Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii). These two species used to be one species – Canada Goose. But in 2004, several of the smaller subspeices of Canada Goose were separated out from Canada Goose and classified as a separate species – Cackling Goose. This was based on two major things. First, […]

22

Aug

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

How to grow and its growth habit: – Full to part sun. – Medium-wet to medium-dry soil. This plant will let you know when it is thirsty – the leaves will droop and this will be obvious. In my experience, it is somewhat drought and heat tolerant. Some of mine are planted in a narrow, […]

16

Aug

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

How to grow and its growing habit: – Needs full to part sun. – Drier to average soil. Avoid wet soils or soils that do not drain well. Fertilizer is not needed and as one of the reasons to add this plant to your garden is to encourage Monarch Butterflies – who […]