Groundhog, Whistle-pig or Woodchuck
by Neil A. Case
Why is the woodchuck called groundhog? There isn’t anything hog or pig-like about it. Its hair is long and brown. I never saw a hog or a pig that color. A woodchuck’s ears are small, rounded and hair covered, not at all like a hog’s. A woodchuck has a nose like a squirrel, a hog has a snout. A woodchuck’s feet have toes and are hair covered. Finally, there’s size. A big woodchuck, a fat one about to go into hibernation, may weight 14 pounds. That’s as big as a woodchuck gets while a full grown hog weighs hundreds of pounds. In spite of a complete lack of similarity, however, the woodchuck is not only called groundhog, but frequently whistle-pig. Their most common call does sound like a shrill whistle.
Eagles increase as Bobwhite decline
by Neil A. Case
“I think I saw a bald eagle. Is that possible?”
Warbler Time
by Neil A. Case
This is warbler time to me and to other birders in the middle and northern states of the U.S. The last of April, the first of March. This is the time when we see the most warblers and we see them the most often. It’s the time when they are migrating north, flying from wintering grounds in the south. Some will nest in our area but many will continue farther north and nest in the northern states and in Canada.
Swallows don't travel by a calendar
by Neil A. Case
When the swallows return to Capistrano in the spring, a famous birding event, it happens every year on St. Joseph’s Day, March 17 and is called the miracle of the swallows. That’s according to information in a leaflet my wife and I got when we visited San Juan Capistrano.
It's Spring
by Neil A. Case
Robins have returned after spending the winter farther south. I hear one or two singing from the trees in our yard when I step outside every morning, if it isn’t raining. I see one often on the lawn. Red-winged blackbirds are back and several call from the cattails of our marsh while others raid our bird feeders. Cardinals whistle from our trees and fly in and out to our feeders. Song sparrows sing.