Mindful Birding Missive: 2 June 2026
Dear Birders,
 
To begin, starting in July, I'm going to offer walks on 1st Tuesdays and 3rd Thursdays to accommodate folks who can't come on Tuesdays. Thus, July walks will be on the 7th (1st Tuesday) & the 16th (3rd Thursday).
 
On June 2nd, 8 of us spent the first 10-15 minutes in the library parking lot for great viewing and behavior opportunities. Donna spotted a White-crowned Sparrow singing from a utility wire. High overhead, 8 Turkey Vultures and one adult Bald Eagle soared on thermals against the blue, blue sky. Song Sparrow perched on the fence, showing off their varied browns. Then a flock of House Finches descended on the Red Hot Poker plants, the males' red heads & breasts complementing the red and yellow flowers. It's possible they were sipping nectar. One person spotted a hummingbird on the same flowers. Finally, 2-3 American Goldfinches chased each other through the sweetgum trees, one male perching briefly.
 
Beth was just about to point out the cavity in an apple tree in front of the Apothecary, when a European Starling popped out. Looking across the field toward Fish Bay, we spotted a distant Osprey - one of the first arrivals of the year (the "fish hawks" spend the winter in South America). House Sparrows snacked on the picnic table. Dark-eyed Junco trilled from a pine top. American Robin looked quite different from the back with no view of their red breast. From Weeks Point Way, we watched the Osprey stoop over the bay, but pull up at the last moment. Another rewarding morning!
 
The next walks will be on Tuesday, June 16; Tuesday, July 7 & THURSDAY JULY 16. Outings are limited to 6 people for a quality experience, so please sign up early at the library or by emailing Beth@LopezLibrary.org
 
Thanks for being with the birds!
Beth

Recommended Resources
Cornell Lab's All About Birds

An amazing free resource from Cornell University. A field guide online plus articles, Live Cams, Courses, and more. Look up each bird we saw to see multiple photos of each species, including male/female/immature, perched/flying images, as well as food, nesting, behavior, and conservation information.

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
by Jon L. Dunn

National Geographic's iconic, best-selling guide for birders and birding enthusiasts of all levels includes unique subspecies maps never before seen in a field guide; extensive migration information overlaid on species maps; field-mark labels on all artwork; text updates with new species; reorganization reflecting taxonomic changes in the bird community; organization, readability, and increased page count.
Peterson field guide to birds of western North America / : Includes Birds of Hawaii
by Roger Tory Peterson

"A new edition of the best-selling field guide, with 25 all-new plates covering the birds of Hawaii"
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America
by David Allen Sibley

Now completely revised and updated, the authoritative guide to over 700 birds of the American West from renowned birder, illustrator, and New York Times bestselling author David Sibley Compact and comprehensive, this guide features 715 bird species, plus regional populations, found west of the Rocky Mountains. Entries include stunningly accurate illustrations--more than 5,046 in total--with descriptive captions pointing out the most important field marks. Each entry also includes the most current information concerning frequency, nesting, behavior, food and feeding, voice description, and key identification features. This improved edition includes: - Updated habitat, description, behavior, and conservation text for each species account and all family pages.- New and revised illustrations of species and regional forms.- New design featuring species accounts in columns, allowing for better comparison and more illustrations and text.- Current taxonomic order and up-to-date common names.- All maps revised to reflect the most current range information.- More species and rarities included. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America contains more than 652 updated maps drawn from information contributed by 110 regional experts across the continent, and shows winter, summer, year-round, migration, and rare ranges.