Cedar Waxwings are dining their way north: Don’t...
Tanagers are one big, beautiful family of birds....
They unlock the Earth’s treasury of hummingbirds. Does...
Pittsburgh’s National Aviary takes you around the world...
“He’s close.” On the trail of a rare...
It’s a bird-eat-bird world: Pileated Woodpeckers on the...
Tree Swallows caught in midair: A rare glimpse...
What a show: Battle of the Hummingbirds reaches...
Can we save this globe-trotting sandpiper? Only if...
Taking off in a cloud, Snow Geese create...
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Bird of the WeekBirds storiesMigrationPhotography

Cedar Waxwings are dining their way north: Don’t miss the show

by Anders Gyllenhaal April 7, 2022
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

 

 

Here’s a delicious fact about Cedar Waxwings: They can strip a tree of its berries in such a rush the juice turns to wine and they get too buzzed to fly.

Robert Rice, a veteran bird scientist who spent his career with the Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center, explained what happens: “They can eat so much fruit, it ferments in their gut and they go wobbly for a while,” Rice said.

Few other birds feast in such a mass frenzy, and the phenomenon is on display this time of year as bands of waxwings dine their way north from the lower U.S. and Central America and as far up as Canada.

It’s a magnificent sight, one I assumed I’d miss this year with our limited mobility. But the other day, wandering through the trees not 50 feet from our home, I noticed what looked like a new arrival. It was the first of a flock of Cedar Waxwings that gradually became an avalanche, all collecting insects as if their lives depended on it.

They began high in the trees, then gradually worked their way down to the lower branches. Today insects were on the menu, and one bird after another took a turn working the branches, all the while ignoring our presence as only the migration enables. It’s a gift to birders, and photographers, enabling closeup views you rarely are granted.

Flying Lesson: The Cedar Waxwing is a study in nature’s design, with touches of yellow, red and brown slashed across a form that is almost always in motion. A good bit of that motion is spent on its frantic feeding. They go overboard on that front as well.

This is a post we published at about this time last year as the waxwings came sweeping through town. We’re rerunning some of our most popular pieces this year while working on our book on conservation across the hemisphere, to be published in the spring of 2023 by Simon and Schuster. Watch for details as this gets closer.
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April 7, 2022 0 comment
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Birds storiesPhotographyVideo

It’s a bird-eat-bird world: Pileated Woodpeckers on the attack

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 27, 2021
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Two male Pileated Woodpeckers battle for supremacy. Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal

We heard the clamor from our woodpecker’s nest and instantly knew something was up. The bird’s usual call was replaced with a high-pitched, staccato screech and both the male and female birds leaped around their tree as if the place was on fire.

Last week, we wrote about the idyllic life these two Pileated Woodpeckers created within a few steps of where we are camping. This week, we got a reminder that nature is unpredictable and sometimes violent. By the end of the week, the pair were forced out of their nest just as they were trying to start a family.

The cries we heard that day were the precursor to an attack from another Pileated Woodpecker who wanted to take the place of the male. We scurried over to see what was going on just as an attack was about to begin. The two male birds jumped from one branch to another, howling furiously. Then they tumbled to the ground as if in a western, falling head over tails as they wrestled. We though the duel might be over, then the two males flew to the top of the nesting tree and began circling each other while trading jabs and squawks.

We’re closing the year by publishing the most popular posts of 2021 — which was our year of travel across the country. Each weekend, we’ll run an updated version of the original story, a kind of tour of the birdscape from North Carolina to Hawaii, Florida to Wyoming. We’ll feature Snow Geese, Sandpipers, Hummingbirds, Tree Swallows, Pileated Woodpeckers and Palilas, the rare the Hawaiian honeycreeper. We hope you’ll come along with us on the tour. But if you’d like to skip ahead or go back and read one you missed, click on the links on these birds. Wishing you a wonderful year of birding ahead. 

Pileateds are the largest woodpeckers in North America, more than a foot tall with a wingspan of two feet. They are powerful birds with large claws and sharp beaks. All of those tools came into play as these two battled for the advantage.

Finally, our original male took a powerful swipe at the intruder, who then flew off in what turned out to be the end of the threat. Both the male and female climbed up and down their nesting tree, ready for another assault that never came. Eventually, they settled down and went back to readying the nest they’d worked on for the past two weeks.

Here’s how it looked in a video: 

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December 27, 2021 0 comment
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Birds storiesFlightPhotography

Tree Swallows caught in midair: A rare glimpse of these aerial acrobats

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 22, 2021
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Most of the time, tree swallows move so astoundingly fast it’s hard to see anything but a blur. They’re in such constant motion they rarely stop long enough to offer more than a glimpse of their deep blue-and-white plumage that looks like a tiny tuxedo.

A Tree Swallow comes in for a landing. Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal

So I was surprised one windy afternoon last month on the plains of eastern Wyoming when I came across a full dozen Tree Swallows clinging to a barbed-wire fence. The wind was so strong they were momentarily grounded. When they did try to fly, the wind held them in place for a time as they took off and landed.

It was as if these little aerial acrobats were frozen in the air.

As long as the wind kept up, I had a chance to catch these birds in the midst of takeoffs, landings, feedings, squabbles, gobbles, squawks and occasionally quiet moments of stillness.

Nobody knows these hyperactive birds better than David Winkler, a long-time professor at Cornell University who researched swallows throughout his career before retiring two years ago. He’s still working with his swallows, to his great delight.

“They’re masters of the air,’’ he said. “I never get tired of looking at them.’’

We’re closing the year by publishing the most popular posts of 2021 — which was our year of travel across the country. Each weekend, we’ll run an updated version of the original story, a kind of tour of the birdscape from North Carolina to Hawaii, Florida to Wyoming. We’ll feature Snow Geese, Sandpipers, Hummingbirds, Tree Swallows, Pileated Woodpeckers and Palilas, the rare the Hawaiian honeycreeper. We hope you’ll come along with us on the tour. But if you’d like to skip ahead or go back and read one you missed, click on the links on these birds. Wishing you a wonderful year of birding ahead. 

Winkler has studied the swallows’ migration, feeding and mating habits, their flight dynamics and nesting routines. He started toward the beginning of his career as a professor of ornithology, and he found no end to the questions about swallows he hoped to answer.

The wind blows a swallow slightly off course.

What he finds most fascinating is their tireless drive, the same thing that makes them so fascinating to watch in flight. “They don’t let anything get in their way,’’ said Winkler.

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December 22, 2021 0 comment
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Birds storiesFlightPhotography

Tree Swallows caught in midair: A rare glimpse of these aerial acrobats

by Anders Gyllenhaal September 11, 2021
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Most of the time, tree swallows move so astoundingly fast it’s hard to see anything but a blur. They’re in such constant motion they rarely stop long enough to offer more than a glimpse of their deep blue-and-white plumage that looks like a tiny tuxedo.

A Tree Swallow comes in for a landing. Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal

So I was surprised one windy afternoon last month on the plains of eastern Wyoming when I came across a full dozen Tree Swallows clinging to a barbed-wire fence. The wind was so strong they were momentarily grounded. When they did try to fly, the wind held them in place for a time as they took off and landed.

It was as if these little aerial acrobats were frozen in the air.

As long as the wind kept up, I had a chance to catch these birds in the midst of takeoffs, landings, feedings, squabbles, gobbles, squawks and occasionally quiet moments of stillness.

Nobody knows these hyperactive birds better than David Winkler, a long-time professor at Cornell University who researched swallows throughout his career before retiring two years ago. He’s still working with his swallows, to his great delight.

“They’re masters of the air,’’ he said. “I never get tired of looking at them.’’

Winkler has studied the swallows’ migration, feeding and mating habits, their flight dynamics and nesting routines. He started toward the beginning of his career as a professor of ornithology, and he found no end to the questions about swallows he hoped to answer.

The wind blows a swallow slightly off course.

What he finds most fascinating is their tireless drive, the same thing that makes them so fascinating to watch in flight. “They don’t let anything get in their way,’’ said Winkler.

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September 11, 2021 2 comments
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BirdingBirds stories

The lion’s impressive, but don’t miss these visiting birds at one of the world’s great zoos.

by Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal June 2, 2021
written by Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal

The most memorable encounter we had on a recent visit to the San Diego Zoo wasn’t the Golden Eagle, Andean Condor or even the African Lion that delivered a ferocious roar just as we walked up. It was a Hooded Oriole that hung around us singing throughout our lunch stop.

We spent a day at the park as a part of our visit to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance that has grown into a powerhouse of research, based at its Safari Park outside the city. We couldn’t pass up the chance to see the zoo’s original downtown location with its storied collection of exotic birds from all over the world.

An Anna’s Hummingbird works the flower baskets at the zoo.

But an odd thing happened as soon as we arrived. We couldn’t help but get distracted by all the wild birds that have taken up residence all over the grounds, from hummingbirds to egrets and herons to all manner of songbirds, including the bright yellow-and-black oriole that joined our lunch on a treetop patio overlooking the zoo.

As we made our way around the sprawling grounds to visit the exhibits, we kept our eyes open for wild birds attracted by the zoo’s rich landscaping and plentiful water and food supply. Some seemed to enjoy flaunting their freedom around their caged relatives.

The tiny Rufous Hummingbird slips in and out of the cages.

A California Towhee perches near the zoo’s noisy lion.

A Great Egret perched right at the top of the condor enclosure. One stop over, a Rufous Hummingbird, small enough to do as it pleased, kept landing right on the metal wires, half in and half out.

The lion’s roar echoed through his section of the zoo, but the California Towhees didn’t seem to see any threat. They perched on the trees within lunging distance of the big cat, suggesting he and his mate were getting all the meat they needed delivered by the zookeepers.

A Bewick’s Wren

We even came across a couple of species we hadn’t seen before. Looking much like its eastern cousins, a Bewick’s Wren danced around the outside of the bird section, an impressive string of aviaries with all manner of international species. Several of the hummingbird species were new to us.

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June 2, 2021 2 comments
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Birds storiesPhotographySpecies

Going fishing: The Reddish Egret shows off its dancing moves

by Anders Gyllenhaal May 20, 2021
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

If you see a Reddish Egret in the shallows of a marsh, just pause for a bit because you’re about to witness an exotic performance. With wings arched over its head, the bird leaps into the air then rushes sideways through the water. The choreography of crisscrossing feet is worthy of Fred Astaire.

We came across this spectacle on the edge of Galveston Island State Park in coastal Texas one recent rainy afternoon. The scene was transfixing: the egret leaps from the water one moment, tilts its heads far over to the side in the next and then appears to tiptoe.

Made all the more compelling by its willowy springtime breeding plumage, this bird isn’t dancing for our benefit. He’s busy working, and the grand finale is a beak full of fish.

In researching what may be the most beautiful of the egret species, we learned that every part of this comical ritual has purpose. When the bird dances through the shallows, he’s stirring up the fish. By raising his wings overhead, he’s creating a shadow that draws prey to within easy striking distance. A strange and gawky lurch forward is actually an attempt to catch the next fish unawares.

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May 20, 2021 1 comment
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Birds storiesPhotographyVideo

It’s a bird-eat-bird world: Pileated Woodpeckers Part 2

by Anders Gyllenhaal March 24, 2021
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Two male Pileated Woodpeckers battle for supremacy. Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal

We heard the clamor from our woodpecker’s nest and instantly knew something was up. The bird’s usual call was replaced with a high-pitched, staccato screech and both the male and female birds leaped around their tree as if the place was on fire.

Last week, we wrote about the idyllic life these two Pileated Woodpeckers created within a few steps of where we are camping. This week, we got a reminder that nature is unpredictable and sometimes violent. By the end of the week, the pair were forced out of their nest just as they were trying to start a family.

The cries we heard that day were the precursor to an attack from another Pileated Woodpecker who wanted to take the place of the male. We scurried over to see what was going on just as an attack was about to begin. The two male birds jumped from one branch to another, howling furiously. Then they tumbled to the ground as if in a western, falling head over tails as they wrestled. We though the duel might be over, then the two males flew to the top of the nesting tree and began circling each other while trading jabs and squawks.

Pileateds are the largest woodpeckers in North America, more than a foot tall with a wingspan of two feet. They are powerful birds with large claws and sharp beaks. All of those tools came into play as these two battled for the advantage.

Finally, our original male took a powerful swipe at the intruder, who then flew off in what turned out to be the end of the threat. Both the male and female climbed up and down their nesting tree, ready for another assault that never came. Eventually, they settled down and went back to readying the nest they’d worked on for the past two weeks.

Here’s how it looked in a video: 

Continue Reading
March 24, 2021 2 comments
0 FacebookTwitterEmail
BirdingBirds stories

Looking for resolutions? Here are 10 ways to sharpen your birding skills

by Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal December 31, 2020
written by Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal

It’s not the best time to go birding in many places, but it is the perfect time to plan how we can become betters birders in the year ahead.

Over the last year, as thousands of newcomers found their way to birding amid the pandemic, we developed a series of posts in a Flying Lesson’s section called Beverly’s Birding Basics. We’ve collected them all on this page,  along with links, suggestions and tools. 

Beverly with her binoculars and birding bag, both topics in these posts.

Here are the 10 best of these posts. They cover everything from how to get started as a birder to how to find the right binoculars, from which birding apps are most effective to what you might want to take on the birding trail. 

You might even find a self-improvement goal or two if you’re still looking for resolutions. 

A good place to start is with the basic equipment of birding. Beverly’s three pieces on binoculars were among the most popular post of the year — and continue to draw constant traffic.

  1. Experts say a good place to start as a birder is to learn the common birds, such as this Eastern Bluebird.

    Enhance your birding life: The first to mention is her story on how a good pair of binoculars can change your birding life, a post that explores the power and beauty of seeing birds up close.

  2. Get the right first pair: The logical next post on how to buy your first pair of binoculars, which is a lot more complicated than you’d think. 
  3. Make the most of those binoculars: The last of this series is her story on how to make the most of your binoculars. It’s tempting to think that binoculars are a snap to use, but there are important things to understand as you get serious about birding.
  4. Advice on getting started: Our next recommendation is a post that gathers advice from some of the best birders around on how, where and when you’ll have the best success as you get started.
  5. Learning to bird by ear: As you get deeper into birding, identifying birds by their calls and songs is key skill. This post makes the case that while it’s not easy, putting in the time will deliver years of rewards. 

    Birding apps can be a big help on the trail. We look at which apps are the best, and which can help in what ways.

  6. Find the best birdsong apps: And if birding by ear doesn’t come easily, there are now more than a half dozen smartphone apps that will help do the work for you. Here’s our analysis on which of these works best. 
  7. Back-yard birding: Particularly during the pandemic, many birders have rediscovered the pleasure of birding in their yards and neighborhoods. This post looks at the apps that can help with that. 
  8. Follow birding etiquette: We all need to learn the obvious and subtle rules of birding, and Beverly’s post on how she learned them the hard way is a nice read full of advice.
  9. Take the next steps: Beverly’s post on how to elevate your birding skills has been one of the most popular.
  10. Be a generous birder: And lastly, we’ll offer up our essay on the importance and returns of helping others in their birding journey. Here’s to a great year of birding ahead!
December 31, 2020 0 comment
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Bird of the WeekBirds storiesMigrationPhotography

A Prothonotary Warbler comes calling on a visit like no other

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 20, 2020
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

We’re winding up the year sharing the most popular  — and we hope most compelling — Flying Lesson stories from 2020.  Most of the posts are profiles of bird encounters, including this story of a Prothonotary Warbler we crossed paths with for a visit we still treasure.  We’re posting one of the highlight pieces each Sunday this month.

All warblers are wonderful to watch, particularly males in the spring. Nature gives them fresh feathers, all the better to snare a mate. For some warblers, spring markings and colors intensify to the point that they look nothing like their normal selves.

My favorite is the Prothonotary Warbler.

Of the 37 species in the Eastern U.S., the male Prothonotary is the only one that glows. His head is a saturated yellow-orange, earning him the nickname “Golden Swamp Warbler.”

Finding a Prothonotary feels like finding that last, hopelessly hidden Easter egg. You have to see it to fully appreciate it, and every time, he takes my breath away.

Yesterday we got lucky. A male in its full spring splendor shot out from under the bridge where Anders and I were standing and headed straight for a bush not 10 feet away and directly in front of us. In the past four years, we’ve seen this bird four times in four states without the lengthy encounter that this little bird gave us.

The visit was a photographer’s delight – perfect late afternoon light and a bird so hungry he foraged out in the open for a good 15 minutes.

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December 20, 2020 1 comment
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Welcome to Flying Lessons, a website devoted to what we’re learning from the birds. You can sign up here for our weekly newsletter, visit our Facebook page here, spend time in our pages devoted to photos, birding advice, videos and special projects. We hope you enjoy your visit — and make this a regular stop.

FLYING LESSONS VIDEOS

White-eyed Vireo Gray Catbird Red-shouldered Hawk Northern Flicker Cedar Waxwing Barred Owl American Goldfinch Northern Waterthrush Summer Tanager Northern Cardinal Carolina Chickadee

In-depth stories

Grasshopper Sparrow

Here are links to some of the deeper stories we’ve written for publications from the Washington Post to The Miami Herald exploring the frontiers of birding and avian research. This story for the Post was about the role of every-day birders in creating the largest citizen science project in the world. This piece for The Herald looked at the surprising strength of the Roseate Spoonbill in the midst of climate change. And this article and video for The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer is about how some adventurous hummingbirds are abandoning their migration and staying the winter in the U.S. Our latest story in the Washington Post is about a rescue mission for the imperiled Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. 

Miami Herald’s Spoonbill package

Some favorite birds

Barred Owl Orlando, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Ruby-throated Hummingbird West Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Hairy Woodpecker Prime Hook Refuge, Delaware
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Prairie Warbler Cape May, New Jersey
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Red-bellied Woodpecker St. Joe Overstreet Landing, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Eastern Wood-Peewee Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Eastern Meadowlark Kissimmee, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Black-throated Blue Warbler Raleigh, North Carolina
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Northern Flicker Alexandria, Virginia
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal

Birds in Flight

Roseate Spoonbill BIRDS IN FLIGHT FELLSMERE, FLORIDA OSPREY BIRDS IN FLIGHT Orlando, Florida American Flamingo BIRDS IN FLIGHT Rio Largartos, Mexico COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL EASTERN MEADOWLARK BIRDS IN FLIGHT KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA Red-shouldered Hawk BIRDS IN FLIGHT Orlando, Florida COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL PALM WARBLER BIRDS IN FLIGHT ORLANDO, FLORIDA BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER BIRDS IN FLIGHT LORTON, VIRGINIA BROWN PELICAN BIRDS IN FLIGHT ASSATEAGUE, MARYLAND COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL WOOD STORK BIRDS IN FLIGHT MELBOURNE, FLORIDA COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL

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Quotes for the birds

“It’s a short path from the joy and wonder of birds to the recognition of what they’re telling us about the environment, and what that compels us to do.”

— David Ringer, chief network officer for The National Audubon Society

Comments, Suggestions & Quips:

On How Birds Teach Humility:

–“NOB. Love it! Great little truths in this post.” – Chara Daum

— “Appreciate your insights, Beverly.” -Ruth Harrell

— “Loving your Flying Lessons blog.” -Susan May, San Francisco

On our offbeat video of a Tufted Titmouse singing along with a banjo:

“That is totally cool,” Tony Mas, Dahlonega, Ga.

“This brought a smile to us. Thanks.” John Deen, St. Paul, MN.

“Really amazing.” Florence Strickland, Sunset Beach, N.C.

On the Mandarin duck’s arrival in Central Park:

— “I think he gets his own Saturday morning now.” -Stephen Colby, Raleigh, N.C.

— “What a beautiful bird. Its colors look painted on. Magnificent.” -Christine DiMattei

On the falling numbers of Wild Turkeys:

“I was just mentioning this to a friend, how I used to see Wild Turkeys every time I hit a dirt road, and now it’s almost rare.” -Jeff Brooks.

“There are a hundred times more turkeys than when I was a kid. Fake BS to shake down donations and public funding.” -Vance Shearer

 

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About us

About us

We’re two journalists who’ve traded in our work in publishing and syndicated writing for following and photographing the birds. We live in Raleigh, NC, but are traveling the country every chance we get -- and are sharing the lessons birds are teaching us and the photos we take along the way.

Popular Posts

  • 1

    It’s a bird-eat-bird world: Pileated Woodpeckers on the attack

    December 27, 2021
  • 2

    What a show: Battle of the Hummingbirds reaches its peak

    December 17, 2021
  • 3

    How on earth? Great White Pelican shows up on the other side of the world

    February 6, 2020
  • 4

    How on earth? Great White Pelican shows up on the other side of the world

    December 13, 2020
  • 5

    Can the Wild Turkey survive? Thanksgiving is the least of its troubles.

    November 22, 2020
  • 6

    Cedar Waxwings are dining their way north: Don’t miss the show

    April 17, 2020

Why Flying Lessons

This website is about what we can learn from the birds around us. Some of the lessons are obvious, such as the way birds can be a barometer of environmental changes. Others are subtle, like the way you, as an observer, have to adapt to navigate the world in which birds operate. We ourselves still have much to learn about birding, a late-in-life pursuit that has captivated us in retirement. But we decided to start writing about the lessons and teachings as we’re finding our way, in hopes that our storytelling and photography will help to celebrate a captivating element of nature.

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