Laura Erickson's For the Birds

During "Taxonomy Time," bird lists fluctuate depending on what taxonomists have been up to.

Laura talks about the still controversial question about whether Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are extinct or not. The recordings used are the Ivory-billed Woodpecker recordings taken by Arthur A. Allen and Peter Paul Kellogg from Cornell in 1935,

Dead or alive? When critically endangered species are on the verge of extinction, there's a murky period between certainty that a species exists and certainty that it doesn't. The bird recording starting and ending this program is a Mourning Dove. No recordings of Passenger Pigeon or Carolina Parakeet exist, and the Mourning Dove's plaintive call seemed appropriate.

When Laura was in Florida this month, it was a family trip, not a birding one, but she saw plenty of birds.

Laura spent last week in Florida celebrating one son's birthday. In this program, she talks about some notable birds she did not see.

Laura reminisces about the largest migration day she ever witnessed.

In a world of chaos and randomness, chickadees create order and fairness.

September is securely in first place (in an 8-way tie), as Laura's favorite month. What makes it so special?

Laura got a lot of information about that banded female Pileated Woodpecker visiting her yard this week, along with photos!

Some things are no laughing matter. A reader of Laura Erickson's blog, which serves as a transcript to this radio program/podcast, took legitimate offense at the post titled, "Detaining Migrants Here in Duluth."

The band on the Pileated Woodpecker who just showed up in Laura's yard is at least 15 or 20 years old, but that doesn't mean the woodpecker is!

The licensed government agents detaining avian migrants deal with them much more kindly than do those detaining human beings. (This one may make some listeners angry.)

Russ wanted to make absolutely certain that Laura saw Whooping Cranes on their trip to Texas. Sure enough!

Laura went on her first planned birding trip, the itinerary including the best birding hotspots of the area, in 1978,

Childhood dreams sometimes do come true.

This summer, for the first time in almost half a century, a pair of Piping Plovers nested along Wisconsin Point in Superior. This was both parents' first nesting attempt and the nest failed, but this proves the value of recent habitat improvement at the Wisconsin Point Bird Sanctuary. The photo is of these nesting birds, taken by Mikayla Erickson of the St. Louis River Alliance.

True botflies don't bother birds in Canada or the northern states, but that doesn't mean Laura hasn't been thinking about them lately.

Why should you clean out your bird house after the baby birds leave?

Taking time to savor a wild creature can be very rewarding.

My daughter lives next door to one of my good birding friends, so we let each other know about good birds.