Tag: bird
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Meet the burrowing owl
I have a surprise for you: there’s an owl that lives underground. AND IT’S SO CUTE!!!! This little owl is a burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia). Burrowing owls are small, slender birds with long legs. They weigh only 4 – 7 ounces (113 – 198 grams) and are about 8 inches (20 cm) long. In fact,…
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Meet the bearded vulture
Last week was International Vulture Awareness Day! And what better way to celebrate than taking a closer look at the prettiest vulture around: the bearded vulture. Bearded vultures (Gypateus barbatus), also known as lammergeiers, are scavenger birds found across southern Europe and Asia. Their typical habitat is at high elevations in mountainous regions; most often,…
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Meet the peregrine falcon
It’s been an exciting month at work – we’ve had juvenile peregrine falcons hanging around! The parents have a nest in the building across the street from us, and the babies have apparently decided that the balcony on the 15th floor is a great place to chill. It’s been so cool to get to see…
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Meet the bald eagle
This past week was July 4th, the United States’ Independence Day. So, I thought it was an excellent time to take a closer look at the U.S.’s national bird: the bald eagle. Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are a type of sea eagle, large fish-eating eagles that live along the water. You typically find bald eagles…
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Meet the Atlantic puffin
I had a very exciting weekend: I saw puffins! Some friends and I went to Booth Bay in Maine for a puffin cruise. After about an hour of sailing into the bay, we saw them: Atlantic puffins. And let me tell you, they were so cute! If you need further proof of a puffin’s cuteness,…
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Meet the secretary bird
I’m excited to tell you all about this week’s animal. It holds a special place in my heart because it’s so cool: the secretary bird. First off, just look at that face. Absolutely fierce. And secondly, they hunt in such a cool way. I’ll talk about it at the end of this post, but here’s…
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Meet the mourning dove
I’m one of those people who uses a physical planner. Sure, I have an online calendar, but I still physically write everything down in the planner. I love having everything clearly written out on my desk. Plus, it’s satisfying to cross things off my daily to-do lists! For 2023, I splurged and got a fancy planner.…
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Meet the willow ptarmigan
Happy New Year! It’s winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, which means snow and cold weather. In fact, I went through a blizzard just a few weeks ago in Michigan! That got me thinking about all the animals that are adapted to and thrive in cold weather. So today, let me introduce you to one…
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Meet the turkey
If you’re in United States, next Thursday is Thanksgiving! And we all know what that means – many of us will enjoy a turkey dinner. Beyond the domesticated turkey on my dinner table, I’ve become more aware of their wild cousins lately. Quite a few turkeys are running around the towns surrounding Boston! In fact,…
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Meet the European starling
When my partner got home from a Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) concert last week, he asked me if I knew what a murmuration was. I said of course! It’s when a bunch of European starlings fly together. But how did starling murmurations come up in an orchestra concert? Well apparently, the BSO co-commissioned a piece…