Laura Erickson's For The Birds

Laura's grandson Walter and her backyard Pileated Woodpecker are both three years old!

This August will have a blue moon, making this what Laura calls National Blue Jay Awareness Month. It's a good time to think about how Blue Jay adults look their scruffiest and most bedraggled in August, before they start looking their old selves again.

Laura plans to reduce her carbon footprint and have a lot of fun on a new e-bike.

Laura loves a truly wild little piece of central Florida protected and maintained by The Nature Conservancy.

Wild Florida's main attractions for visitors are alligators, sloths, and a "wild animal safari," but Laura was impressed with the wild birds she saw, and especially with the knowledge of an airboat captain who pointed out lots of cool things including her lifer Gray-headed Swamphens.

In April, Laura and her Explore Kissimmee group visited Discovery Cove, a limited-admission park owned by SeaWorld. Laura got great photos and had a lot of fun, but wishes the park provided more information about how and where these animals survive in the wild.

Lake Tohopekaliga is the best place Laura knows for getting good looks at Limpkins and Snail Kites.

Kissimmee, Florida, in the most touristy part of Florida, is still rich in birdlife.

Florida's biodiversity and human diversity are at risk right now even as their governor is driving the state off a cliff, asleep at the wheel. Warning: Three times in this program I use the word "bullshit," twice near the beginning and once near the end. Some radio stations may have to bleep that out.

A Parasitic Jaeger turned up on Park Point in Duluth last weekend, and Laura spent some time watching it Wednesday.

It's time to pay attention to hummingbirds again!

Loons must teach their babies about danger, weighing just how dangerous every threat might be. The loon recordings used in this program were made by me during the pontoon boat experience recounted in the episode.

How do Blue Jays, Crows, and Pileated Woodpeckers teach their babies to avoid danger?

Magpies and crows in Europe are incorporating metal anti-bird spikes into their nests to keep other birds away. Laura finds this doubly "ironic," reminding us we're all in this together. The Eurasian Magpie recording was made by [Uku Paal](https://xeno-canto.org/contributor/XIBLXHRPJO).

Laura stopped eating beef ten years ago this week, and received a completely unexpected reward in the form of Pacific Golden-Plovers.

Laura's favorite Pileated Woodpecker has at least two fledglings.

What's happening on Peabody Street?

Lang Elliott's free "Hear Birds Again" app with his recommended headphones is "fantabulous."

When the Air Quality Index is high due to smoke particulates, is it safe to set out birdbaths?

Birders using eBird are making an invaluable contribution to science, conservation, and education. This summer the New York Times is collaborating with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to encourage more birders to use it.