Image: The Ultimate Bird Drawing Throwdown Showdown Graphic featuring images of David Sibley and H. Jon Benjamin

Join BirdNote tomorrow, November 30th!

Illustrator David Sibley and actor H. Jon Benjamin will face off in the bird illustration battle of the century during BirdNote's Year-end Celebration and Auction!

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Shows With Contributions by Mike Hamilton

Bald Eagle

We Draw Strength from Nature

A Bald Eagle that was feeding on the ground suddenly rises up. With two powerful strokes, its massive wings carry it high into a tree, where it lands and looks down. Nature is impersonal, but we feel a connection, don't we? How can we not draw strength from wild creatures we admire?
Douglas Squirrel, the "chickaree"

Douglas Squirrel

The Douglas squirrel is a pint-sized, chestnut-red native resident of forests west of the Cascade rim. They waste no time in telling you - and other squirrels - you're in their territory, particularly if you're near their central larder of conifer cones. They're named for Scottish explorer…
Black-capped Chickadee and sunflower

Chickadees at Dawn

Chickadees and nuthatches swirl in small chattering flocks in the first light, to drink dew from the cups of leaves. Birds are gifted, as Henry Beston wrote, "with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are…
Black-capped Chickadee

Chickadees in Winter

How do Black-capped Chickadees manage to survive the rigors of winter at high latitudes? For survival, chickadees have three things going for them: they're insulated, they're active, and they have a good memory. Thanks to a half-inch coat of feathers, the Black-capped Chickadee maintains…
Male Common Yellowthroat singing

Bird Song ID

Roger Tory Peterson, the best known American figure of 20th Century birdwatching, offered help on birding by ear. Whenever he could, he provided a catchphrase to identify a bird's song. "Witchety-witchety-witchety" captures the song of this Common Yellowthroat. The California Quail seems…
Great Egrets

Habitat and the Tipping Point

Rick Potvin is the manager of the McKinney National Wildlife Refuge on Long Island Sound. He oversees coastal and low-lying habitat for wildlife. Rick says, "What we need to do is to get our habitats in the most robust condition we can - because there will be a tipping point, and the…
The Oriole's Nest

Bullock's Oriole Weaves a Nest

The Bullock's Oriole is the only member of the oriole family that nests in the Northwest. With a slender, sharply pointed bill, the oriole weaves a marvelous pouch-like nest that hangs suspended from its upper rim. The nest hangs downward four to eight inches. The female weaves together…
Mt. Rainier from Nisqually

Nisqually, National Jewel

Mt. Rainier's majestic, snow-capped crown is the pre-eminent landmark of Rainier National Park. Its glaciers and snowmelt nourish rich natural habitats, including the Nisqually Delta, far downstream. This meeting of waters is a lush expanse of marsh, tidelands, and tree-lined streams. The…
A Flock of Snow Geese

Blanket of Snow Geese

Rounding a bend on a snowy river delta in winter, you see farmland covered in white. It seems surreal, as if the artist Andy Goldsworthy has floated a huge duvet across the landscape. Snow Geese, thousands of them! Snow Geese winter far south of where they nest - on Wrangell Island in…