Countryside living. Getting on a bit. It was only a matter of time before I gave into certain impulses: I’m curious about birdlife. It’s a curiosity that’s at risk of developing into outright ...

I heard a tune playing over a grocery store’s sound system but could not recall the name of song or singer. I opened the Shazam app on my phone and nodded to myself — “You Never Can Tell” by Chuck ...

Other than cars, the thing I hear most often at home is birds. I live in Southern California, in a relatively suburban neighborhood, outside of an even more metropolitan downtown. I don’t get the ...

I’m not a bird watcher, but I’ve become a bird listener ever since downloading a bionic ear app to my phone. It lets me enter a different world, one where I’m surrounded not just by chirping but by ...

Merlin was on the job at Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park one recent day, helping birders identify bird songs. Not Merlin the storied magician, although what was happening could be ...

Before the summer sun sends a sliver of light over the horizon, the dawn chorus begins. It is still dark and wood thrushes and pewees, cardinals and robins are singing, their melodies punctuated by ...