Wildlife Watch

Birders often refer to little brown birds as LBB’s or LBJ’s (“little brown jobs”). They can be extremely confusing to identify, but seeing them at your bird feeder gives you a chance.The LBB’s we most often see at feeders in Westford are the sparrows: Song Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, and Chipping Sparrows. True sparrows have … Read more

In this winter of our Covid discontent, we have something exciting to look for at our feeders. According to the National Audubon website, this winter is “one of the biggest irruption years of boreal birds in recent memory.” As you have no doubt noticed, conifers have “mast” years when cones are plentiful, and other years … Read more

Many of Westford’s birds have migrated south by now, and we miss seeing them at our feeders and hearing their songs in our yards and woods. But, late fall and winter bring new opportunities. This is the time to really pay attention to and learn about our resident birds. There is much to learn about … Read more

We have certainly had a hot summer, with lots of sun. But there’s a lot to love about the sun, especially its energy! We can capture the sun’s energy in solar panels, heat and cool our homes, run our electric stoves and lights. While using lots of electricity derived from the burning of fossil fuels … Read more

Scientists have only recently learned that birds, like insects, can see ultraviolet light. Birds can see the entire spectrum of light from ultraviolet to infrared. They see the same colors we see, but much more. And this explains a lot. The history of research on this phenomenon is reported in The American Institute of Biological … Read more