Kern Audubon Society

A formidable bird-hunter about the same length as the related American Kestrel, the Merlin is more powerfully built and seems far larger — more like a miniature Peregrine Falcon.

Once known as the Canada Nuthatch or Red-bellied Nuthatch, the active, compact Red-breasted Nuthatch is a common resident of northern and western coniferous and mixed forests in the United States and Canada.

The American Crow is widespread in North America and, like the Blue Jay, is often maligned and misunderstood. In folklore, the crow is sometimes associated with witchcraft and evil, or is thought to signify misfortune and even death.

The shy Swainson’s Thrush is a bird of deep coniferous woods and dense thickets, more often heard than seen. A quick glimpse reveals a plain-backed, medium-sized thrush, most distinctive for its buffy “spectacles” and the warm, buffy tones of its face and upper chest.

Each spring heralds a unique spectacle on brushy western plains of North America. Year after year, male Greater Sage-Grouse congregate on ancestral display grounds known as leks.