Blog

A NestWatcher discovers an albino Tree Swallow in a Massachusetts nest box. Fewer than one-half of a percent of all birds have this genetic condition.

Do Northern Flickers have a “hive mind” mentality? Or is their acoustic resemblance to a swarm of bees simply coincidence? Listen in, and decide for yourself!

We love to play “Guess whose nest?” and answer your burning nest questions. Sometimes, however, this takes a detour into non-avian species. Here are our top five participant finds.

A new study based on Ohio’s bluebirds and Tree Swallows sheds light on how future climate scenarios might impact nesting birds. It also takes a look at how birds might help mitigate crop pests in Ohio.

A study spanning a century of House Finch data suggests that as California’s springs get warmer, the birds are laying eggs earlier in the season. Read on to learn how researchers used our nest records to uncover the historic lives of House Finches.

For anyone struggling with how to clean and maintain a large nest box mounted on a tall pole, consider installing a pulley system to raise and lower your nest box. Within this post is a link to a design for building a low-cost pulley system.

A new study of nest box design suggests that bluebird enthusiasts should choose round entrance holes over “slot-style” nest boxes. Find out why this design decision made a difference to Mountain Bluebirds in British Columbia.

When it comes to predators near the nest, do birds leave after just one observation? A recent study suggests that simply observing a predator at the nest box one time is not likely to cause abandonment.

How did the bizarre folklore of the “changeling” child first enter European literature? Could an avian reproductive strategy called “brood parasitism” have served as inspiration? This week, we explore the origins of this fanciful myth by examining real-life changelings (i.e., cowbirds and cuckoos).