Photo by Mucky 38 By Gillian Martin As American as apple pie, vanilla ice cream and the national anthem, the robin is an icon of urban backyards, parks, farmlands, fruit orchards and clearings in forests. Its melodic warble, “Cheerily, cheer up, cheer up” spills from tree tops anywhere there is short grass or meadow. Thirty-three poems have its name in … Read More

‘Red-shafted’ Northern Flicker by J. Omar Hansen by Gillian MartinThe Northern Flicker is the second largest, most widespread and migratory woodpecker in North America (except for Hawaii which has no woodpeckers). Unlike most other woodpeckers, its coloration is suited for its ground foraging habits. An untrained eye would find little to suggest this bird is a woodpecker, and even less … Read More

Female Allen’s with fledglings by Peggy Honda. by Gillian MartinBrazen, dazzling and confounding. How else would you describe a hummingbird? Just for fun weigh two pennies in your palm. On average, hummers weigh even less. And this is true. They flap their wings 200 times per minute. How? By investing 30% of their body weight in flight muscles. To supply … Read More