Posted on January 20, 2012 by Joseph C. Neal and saved under Bird Notes, Columns, Outdoors
This is a winter when Snowy Owls that nest in the far, far north, come south for at least part of the winter. It’s not every winter, either. There are Snowy Owls in northern Missouri and north-central Oklahoma. For the past few weeks, I have included the Snowy Owl pursuit…
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Posted on December 10, 2011 by Joseph C. Neal and saved under Bird Notes, Outdoors
Common Grackles and European Starlings appear to be the main components of large blackbird roosts developing in my Fayetteville neighborhood. This is an annual event, as soon as we begin to have nighttime freezing. The birds roost together for various reasons, but a key one is that they are warmer…
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Posted on November 24, 2011 by Joseph C. Neal and saved under Bird Notes, Outdoors
We have Bald Eagles every year in Arkansas, including nesting birds. But there was a time, 25 years ago, when Bald Eagles were all but extinct in the state. Just to remind everybody: these eagles plus many other kinds of large birds, including many hawks and pelicans, were hard hit…
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Posted on November 12, 2011 by Joseph C. Neal and saved under Bird Notes, Outdoors
The above is a phrase that Arkansas native – and in past days, an extremely famous and highly successful St. Louis Cardinal pitcher – Dizzy Dean employed in reference to runners on the base. He also stated, among other things, “The Good Lord was good to me. He gave me a strong right…
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Posted on October 30, 2011 by Joseph C. Neal and saved under Bird Notes, Columns, Outdoors
Birds remember landscapes fundamentally invisible to us non-birds. I am reminded of this by a telephone call on Saturday night from a gentleman who lives at Garfield north of Beaver Lake. He is an experienced outdoors person, but near his home he has encountered a stranger: in size and general…
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Posted on October 15, 2011 by Joseph C. Neal and saved under Bird Notes, Columns, Outdoors
If you’re going birding, you’ll have to turn off the TV and today’s Wheel of Fortune rerun. I play it every day myself, planning out my bird watching adventures. This involves one of my most jealously guarded secrets. How do I decide where to go birding today? This is something…
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Posted on September 26, 2011 by Joseph C. Neal and saved under Bird Notes, Columns, Outdoors
If you’ve got the traveling bug, I suggest you forget high airline tickets and just hitch up with the Dickcissels. It’s goodbye to Arkansas nesting country, hello winter in ole Venezuela with stops along the way in Mexico and Central America. …
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