Dr. Roger Lederer

Birds in Cities

October 22, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

BIrds over city gate, Jaipur, India A 2007 study of urban birds and their close relatives in the wild in 73 major cities across the world found that the native ranges of urban birds are wider in latitude and elevation than those bird species that have not invaded cities. The…

Cranial Kinesis

October 15, 2019October 15, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Often I watch birds just for general relaxation; seeing them flit among branches or hop along the ground or tossing seeds in the air looking for the best parcel of food. But sometimes I focus intently and try to figure out what exactly a bird is doing, why it is…

Forty Years From Now

October 8, 2019October 8, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

I’m baking bread and looking out my kitchen window at the first migratory visitors to my bird feeder. There’s a White-crowned Sparrow. Resident birds are partaking of the goodies too as the leaves turn, the weather gets cooler and the insects less abundant. Titmice, doves, towhees, jays, and the occasional…

It’s Migration Time

October 1, 2019October 1, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

In the northern hemisphere, birds have been heading south for the past few weeks, or even longer, depending on the species and where they are starting from. Some birds have not begun their southward trek yet. Wherever they begin and whatever their destination, it's a perilous journey. Just before I…

Birds are Disappearing

September 24, 2019September 24, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

You have probably heard from one of many news sources, like the NY Times and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, that birds are vanishing. Somewhere between 25 and 30% of all birds in North America have disappeared since 1970. That's about three billion breeding birds. I have heard estimates of…

Home, Sweet Home

August 26, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Sauble Beach, Lake Huron,Ontario Imagine coming home one day and finding your house severely damaged, all your bank accounts drained, and people you don’t know hanging around. It would be intimidating and stressful. You might be able to adjust and rebuild there or nearby and recoup your financial losses or…

More Birds In Your Yard

August 20, 2019August 25, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

New Hope's Guide to a bird-friendly backyard Many people feed or just watch birds out their kitchen window; that’s a treat but one might eventually get bored with watching the same conglomeration of birds from day to day. After all, having a mob of a few dozen Eurasian Collared Doves,…

Bird Mites

August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Bird Mite From the Middle English meaning very small or Middle Dutch meaning small copper coin, we get the term mite. Mites are small arthropods (joint-legged animals like insects, crayfish, and spiders) belonging to the class Arachnida (spiders and allies). Most mites are tiny, less than 1 mm in length, and have a simple, unsegmented body…

Big Bird

August 7, 2019August 7, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Elephant Bird Even though Big Bird was 8 feet two inches tall, he wasn't the biggest bird we know about. The biggest bird that ever lived was the Elephant Bird of Madagascar that stood nearly 10 feet tall and weighed about 1700 pounds. Its egg weighed 22 pounds. Extinct since…

Birding Namibia

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Ruff Namibia, with the second least dense human population (after Mongolia), sits on the southwest side of Africa, just above South Africa. I have been fortunate enough to visit this country twice in the last 14 months and of course took some time to birdwatch. Nambia is not particularly known…

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