Nighthawks

Some birds sing. Others twitter, tweet or trill. But the common nighthawk goes boom in the night. This noise isn’t all that sets nighthawks apart in the avian world. What else makes them unique? MORE…

Learning to Sing

Learning to vocalize is a surprisingly unusual ability in the animal world. How do young songbirds master their musical talents? MORE…

Burrowing Owls

Not all owls hunt at night and nest in trees. Burrowing owls greet the sun from abandoned prairie dog dens. What else makes these tiny birds unique? MORE…

Pyrrhuloxia

With its showy red crest and golden bill, the pyrrhuloxia shouldn’t be confused with its more flamboyant cardinal relative. What makes this desert bird unique? MORE…

Turkey Vultures

They eat roadkill. They urinate on themselves. When frightened, they vomit. The turkey vultures have returned. Why does our harbinger of spring have so many unsavory habits? MORE…

Bosque del Apache

Every winter, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico hosts a spectacular congregation of snow geese and sandhill cranes. Why do they flock here? MORE…

Cedar Waxwings

Winter brings hordes of these handsome birds to our region, where they’ll throng our junipers and devour every berry they can find. Who are these winter wanderers? MORE…

Pine Dining

Pine trees are much more than symbols of Christmas and sources of timber. They serve up a smorgasbord for many wild animals and insects. Who dines on pines in the Chihuahuan Desert region? MORE…

Wildlife Rehabilitation

What keeps an El Paso wildlife rehabilitator going through 16-hour days and the sadness of having to euthanize animals that can’t be saved? A dove named Larry, and a goose’s gratitude. MORE…

Coping with Aridity

Desert animals have adapted to surviving with little or no water during our dry winter and spring. How do they do it? MORE…

Overwintering Hummingbirds

Some species of hummingbird visit West Texas even during our winter months. How do they survive freezing weather, and what can you do to help them? MORE…

Grassland Birds

As the days get shorter and the temperatures begin to drop, you may begin to notice flocks of “little brown birds” beginning to arrive. What’s the relationship between the grasslands of the Chihuahuan Desert region and these winter guests? MORE…

Roadrunners

Many of us grew with Wiley Coyote and his arch nemesis, the elusive roadrunner. So we think of roadrunners as large, blue, and very fast birds that live to torment coyotes. Actually, these birds much more interesting than that. MORE…