Category: Birdwatching

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

The swift-flying Galápagos Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) is known by locals as “patapegada,” or “web-footed one.” Once lumped together with the Hawaiian Petrel into a species known as the Dark-rumped Petrel, these two seabirds were split into unique species in 2002 by the American Ornithologists Union based on differences between the two species’ vocalizations, morphology, and genetics.

With long wings and a distinctive flight pattern, the Galápagos Petrel is part of a larger group of seabirds known as “gadfly” petrels. Gadfly petrels are named for their erratic twisting and turning flight,

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

The vibrant colors and soft, musical warbles of the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) are a welcome sight on a cold, snowy day. Bluebirds have long been considered harbingers of spring, from Mexico to the eastern United States, and their willingness to nest in open, human-modified habitats makes them popular among birders and non-birders alike.

Eastern Bluebird populations plunged in the early 20th century, when non-native House Sparrows and European Starlings were introduced into the United States. Both of these invasive species are also cavity-nesters and much more aggressive than bluebirds,