Classifieds

West Fargo Pioneer

Weather Forecast

Close

birding

Indirectly due to the lengthening of days, male house finches have noticeably increased their singing of late. Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Flight Lines: Morning, lengthening days lead to singing birds

"In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love," wrote British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson in his work titled, Locksley Hall. Indeed there is something about...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Mar 07, 2012 - 12:00am

A black-capped chickadee harvests hair from a dead squirrel's tail in an example of what Meinertzhagen calls autolycism. Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Flight Lines: Sorting through natural relationships not always easy

The other day I received an email with an attached video showing scenes of a crow and a house cat frolicking and carrying on in a playful and friendly manner...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Feb 22, 2012 - 12:00am

Black-capped chickadees are considered non-migratory and can be encountered in the woods in any season. Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Flight Lines: Black-capped chickadee everyone's favorite

Just for fun, let's say we've been asked to manufacture a bird species using a list of certain characteristics, as if something like this were possible. Our orders say the...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Feb 08, 2012 - 12:00am

The author (left) searches for birds Saturday with his neighbor's son, Joe.
Photo by Doug Leier.

Flight Lines: Seeing more clearly with young eyes

Every now and then, we all need reminding as to just what it was that led us here in the first place, and why we love what we do. Over...

outdoors Wed, Jan 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Found on 51 percent of past Fargo-Moorhead Christmas Bird Counts, red-breasted nuthatches were not recorded during most recent CBC.
Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Flight Lines: Recent bird survey exceeds expectations again

It was thought by many experts that the record would never be broken; the human body just cannot accomplish such a feat, a four-minute mile is not possible they said...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Jan 04, 2012 - 12:00am

Even small areas of bushes in an urban landscape produces cover for a variety of organisms.
Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Holiday gift ideas for the birder in your life

Christmas shopping has never been a strong area for me. I'm not entirely sure why, it just happens to be that way. I think the hype and hustle of the...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Dec 21, 2011 - 12:00am

One of two recently documented snowy owls found north of Fargo. The heavy barring indicates this is an immature bird. Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Flight Lines: Sharp snowy owl contrast between last two winters

We are under an invasion. Unlike Orson Welles' 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel, War of the Worlds, this one is real and it's coming from the north...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Dec 07, 2011 - 12:00am

Outside of wetlands with ample cover, American bitterns are rarely encountered.
Keith Corliss / West Fargo Pioneer

Outdoor oddities always pique a birder's curiosity

Just by happenstance - I call it luck - I live in the same West Fargo neighborhood as North Dakota Game and Fish Department biologist, Doug Leier. Not only have...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Nov 09, 2011 - 12:00am

A summer nest of American goldfinches stands out in a maple tree once its leaves have fallen away. Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Flight Lines: Leaf drop reveals handiwork of nesting birds

Remove the leaves from trees and all manner of secrets are exposed to the world. Secrets which had been hidden for the summery months in the dappled verdant bosom of...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Oct 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Great horned owls are just one of many raptor species illegally targeted by some unscrupulous hunters. Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Flight Lines: Pelican colony destruction strikes a chord

Like almost every morning, last Friday found me leafing through the pages of the Forum newspaper. Separating this day from most was a story on page A7 which carried the...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Oct 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Shorebirds, consisting of a few different species near West Fargo recently, ably illustrate the flocking behavior of birds once past the breeding season. Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Flight Lines: Characteristics differ among fall bird tendencies

Consider the topic areas below simplistic. Species of different stripes tend to be scattered all over the chart when it comes to characteristics and shun sweeping generalizations. Still, at the...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Sep 14, 2011 - 12:00am

This cicada--likely one of the annual Tibicen species--was recently seen in Red Wing, Minn. Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Flight Lines: Noise maker lives most of life underground, emergence tied to warm summer days

The first time I remember hearing it was in 1983 while living in Columbus, Miss. By the time summer arrived, things were as hot and sticky as this North Dakota...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Aug 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Every organism requires certain conditions from its habitat, including this six-spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata). Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Flight Lines: When it comes to the outdoors, it's all habitat

Years ago I tried looking for Baird's sparrow in Cass County. I knew this sought-after songbird was a grassland specialist and, well, there's grass in Cass County isn't there? Little...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Aug 17, 2011 - 12:00am

A grasshopper sparrow sings its primary song from an exposed perch near the landfill. This grassy area is getting more quiet as August advances. Keith Corliss / Forum Communications Co.

Songbird vocalizations unique to each species

Just last weekend I found myself in the cell phone parking lot at Fargo's Hector Airport waiting for family members to return from a brief trip. It was a pleasant...

flight lines / outdoors Wed, Aug 03, 2011 - 12:00am

An American goldfinch takes a bath and reveals little evidence of what was once a broad white wingbar. Having molted its wings late last year, it's now worn very thin. Keith Corliss

An introduction to the complexities of molt

If you hang around the bird-watching hobby long enough there are a number of themes which you will find unavoidable. As much as you want to just sit there with...

outdoors Wed, Jul 20, 2011 - 8:43am

Pages