Author Archives: Dottie Moon

In February and March we searched for the Barred Owl at Maclay’s Flat. We looked for it for 12 days with equally unsuccessful results. Lucy, Papa, and I chatted with three photographers and were talking to the fourth when she started asking me questions about my camera and I answered them as best as IContinue reading “Birding with Generosity”

I am Lucy Jones Herring. I am 6 years old and homeschooled. I like to go outside. This is my first time doing a blog post! My favorite colors are red and blue. I draw birds, flowers, and dragons, but I really like to draw bugs. I also draw from how to draw books.  ThisContinue reading “All About Lucy”

In almost every book or video you find about owling, they are going to say don’t publicly share an owl’s location. When someone is searching for an owl and they receive this response from another person, it can be quite disappointing. I have three pieces of birding etiquette to share; but remember, this is justContinue reading “Birding Etiquette”

The Motivation. I believe that whenever I publish a blog I will see an owl, so after we came back from Pennsylvania I posted about the Common Grackle. The next day I was all Yay! We’re gonna see an owl! We drove to Tower Street, I hopped out and started walking the trail. Where areContinue reading “The Owl At Seventh Street”

Quiscalus quiscula A gang of grackles: We went to Pennsylvania a few weeks ago to see my family, while I was there, I really wanted to see the Common Grackle. On our fifth day I had just plopped down with a book on the couch when a large flock of black birds descended on theContinue reading “Common Grackle”

On Wednesday, January 11, 2023, I went birding with Lucy, Papa, and Tyler at Maclay Flat. Only 2 seconds after exiting the car, all of us were staring at a northern pygmy-owl that had posted up on a small conifer next to the entrance of the trails. After about thirty pictures or so, we movedContinue reading “Northern Pygmy-Owls at Maclay Flat”

Through December, Lucy and I have been using watercolors to paint birds. Most of the supplies that we used were given to us by the Montana Natural History Centers’ annual nature journaling class. Although a combination of our paintings are included, I wrote all the captions. I hope you enjoy them! The Tufted Puffin (FraterculaContinue reading “Happy New Year!”

The red-breasted nuthatch was the most curious and the first to feed from the suet. To learn more about the importance of the number of ‘dees’ in the chickadees call, the science article Allometry of Alarm Calls by my friend Erick Greene, Kate Davis, and Chris Templeton is a great place to start. Of theContinue reading “Feeder Field Notes of December”

Welcome back readers! I’m going to tell you about deer fat suet feeders and how we make them, tips, warnings and more. We made these feeders because we are a family who tries to limit their waste. Using deer fat, we make candles and lotion with a byproduct that usually goes to the landfill. ButContinue reading “Limit Our Waste and Help The Birds”

What exactly is a parasite? Well, parasites are animals that live off of other living animals. Brood parasites, though, place their eggs in other animals’ nests. But why do birds parasitise? In my opinion it’s because they’re the lazy, good-for-nothing parents of the bird world. The real reason is that it lessens the chance theirContinue reading “The Laziest Parents in the Bird World”