Laura Erickson's For The Birds

Laura was ready with her camera to capture an exciting interaction between a Common Merganser and a northern pike.

Laura claims she's done thinking about the number of birds on her many bird lists.

Woodcocks are back in the Northland, much to Laura's delight.

The longstanding sponsors of "For the Birds" have updates: Billionaire Earth Angel is embarking on a new project to prove people were banding birds 45,000 years ago, and Jim Baker just added a new, secret ingredient to his already perfect Baker's Blue Jay Blend.

Of the seven species of woodpeckers on Cuba's official checklist, one is almost definitely extinct and one has appeared in the country only as an extremely rare vagrant. Laura saw all five of the others on her February visit to Cuba.

Seeing Bee Hummingbirds in Cuba last month filled Laura with joy.

During this bird flu outbreak experts are cautioning people to leave bird carcasses where they are, even though functionally illiterate eagles, dogs, and other creatures have been infected by these carcasses. Laura made a decision about how she will handle this situation if a carcass turns up in her yard.

Every spring it's important to make sure our feeders are safe for birds. During this bird flu outbreak, this is more important than ever.

Famous migration patterns of swallows and cranes is scary this year, as wild and domesticated birds are still dying of highly pathogenic avian influenza and humans are getting infected, but we're losing the very forces that usually manage these crises.

Laura is bewitched by Cuban Todies.

Laura's hearing loss has grown worse since the pandemic, but suddenly things are looking up!!

The morning after she got home from Cuba, Laura and her husband set out for East Lansing, Michigan, so she could see a chickadee in the same area where she saw her first exactly 50 years ago. The blogpost corresponding to this segment is much longer, with lots of photos.

Laura had a splendid trip to Cuba.

Elon Musk is hoping to set up a launching and landing area for his SpaceX Starships in a very vulnerable, important area.

Laura and Russ had a "Three Owl Morning" on Superb Owl Sunday.

Laura tells the true story of a baby Pine Siskin.

Laura's feeders are buzzing with the "Miss Congenialities" of the finch family.

STOP feeding ducks! Feeding other birds may be fine, depending on where you live.

Knowing when and when not to intervene when an owl seems distressed is not straightforward.

For a while in the 90s, Laura had two licensed education birds, a nighthawk and a Blue Jay, both lovable but entirely different. They inspired this story, written in 2020.