Back in 2004, in what now seems like another life, I had a memorable experience on my way to work. Walking east along Wacker Drive, I noticed what looked like a leaf floating toward the sidewalk. It ...

Red-breasted nuthatches, with their bold personalities and unmistakable “yank, yank, yank,” remind us to slow down and notice ...

Sitting on a bench surrounded by 70-foot-tall Norway spruces, I watch a red-breasted nuthatch take a peanut from a feeder in my front yard. There’s a cool breeze on this sunny autumn day, and I know ...

This nasally call should be familiar to everyone who feeds birds or tromps through the woods. It's the sound made by a white-breasted nuthatch staying in touch with a partner, as these natty birds ...

The broad-winged hawk migration is reaching its peak this week. The numbers have been intensifying at Hawk Mountain with a daily high count for the season of 775 on Thursday. On Wednesday, 177 were ...

Red-breasted nuthatches are one of my favorite birds. Admittedly, I have a lot of favorites, but these are at the top of my list perhaps because they, as birds with a more northerly range than the ...

I did a double-take the other morning when I saw a nuthatch checking out the suet feeder in my yard on the outskirts of Decatur. It was neither a white-breasted nuthatch nor a brown-headed nuthatch — ...

It looks like this might be an irruption year for northern-nesting red-breasted nuthatches. These small 4.5-inch nuthatches may show up statewide this winter at area bird feeders to eat seeds, suet ...

I enjoy watching and photographing songbirds around my feeders, especially in winter. It seems like birds are more cooperative for the camera at this time of year. One of the most active and, in my ...

The white-breasted nuthatch is a familiar bird to many feeders in our region. This small songbird is snowy white below and wears a coat of slate-blue above. A bold black stripe caps its head and neck.

I was sitting on my porch enjoying my morning coffee. It's a daily ritual of mine, as it is for many people, I'm sure. The main point of my ritual, of course, is to look and listen for what birds are ...