Laura Erickson's For The Birds

Laura's first bird of the year was a Pileated Woodpecker. In addition to enjoying her backyard birds, she's preparing for her trip to Hawaii next month, by studying the birds and getting herself back in shape for the adventure.

Laura cancelled an exciting trip for this coming February, but is doing well enough that she cancelled her cancellation.

Laura's surgery was successful and she's back looking at, and photographing, birds!

Laura went birding in northern Wisconsin Saturday.

When we read books to toddlers, we're not only enlarging their picture of the world--we're enlarging out own.

Reading to babies and toddlers has a great many benefits for us adults as well as the wee ones.

Laura talks about the pros and cons of feeding Florida Scrub-Jays, and why it's best to follow the current anti-feeding guidelines.

Laura has a lot to be thankful for today.

Wild Turkeys are splendid birds, but maybe their introduction into areas where they were not historically found wasn't a good idea.

Field guides and bird song books help children to recognize and name the birds around them, and that's a Good Thing.

Must a book be entirely about birds to qualify? Laura doesn't think so. The books Walter is most enjoying right now are in the "Monkey with a Toolbelt" series, and Laura says they can help us teach the important role that birds play in our daily lives.

Taxonomists have been studying, and revising their names for, scrub jays for a long time.

We have no clue how much birds deal with anxiety and worry, but they sure have the capacity to relieve ours.

The Florida Scrub-Jay has many endearing habits which, tragically, don't seem to resonate with Florida's human population.

Why does Laura have such a *personal* love for Florida Scrub-Jays?

The American Ornithological Society just announced that they are changing the names of American birds named for people.

Is respecting private property too much to ask?

An astonishing 84 percent of Americans older than 65 think they will have to make just minor sacrifices in their lives, or none at all, because of global climate change. Laura is most seriously displeased.

One of the friendliest, most approachable birds on the planet deserves serious protection from the Endangered Species Act, but isn't getting it.

Sometimes Plan B turns out to be better than Plan A.