Bird Watching in Peru

Bird watching in Peru is an unbeatable experience and one that will leave even the most seasoned bird watcher awestruck. Peru is the destination of choice for many international birders, and for good reason. Peru is home to 120 endemic species of birds, with no fewer than 42 new species being recorded in the past 30 years. Over 1,800 bird species have been recorded to date – including the endemic species – and researchers believe that the list will continue to grow as they explore new areas.

Birding in Madera Canyon, Arizona

The beautiful Madera Canyon, located in the Santa Rita Mountain Range in southern Arizona, is considered by many to be a bird-watcher’s paradise. The terrain on the approach to Madera Canyon is grasslands, which gives way to mountain forest. The area is renowned for its abundance of bird species and the relatively easy access to watch and photograph birds that are generally not seen elsewhere.

The Important Role of Birds in Pollination

Pollination, whereby pollen grains (male) are transferred to the ovule (female) of a plant, is an irreplaceable step in the reproduction of seed plants. Most plant fruits are unable to develop without pollination taking place and many beautiful flower varieties would die out if not pollinated. Bees and insects are the most common pollinators, but bats and birds are known to do their share in this vital activity. The agent moving the pollen, whether it is moths, bees, bats, wind or birds, is called the “pollinator” and the plant providing the pollen is called the “pollenizer”.

How Do Hummingbirds Hover?

Hummingbirds are a bird species well known for their amazing aerobatic skills. You may see a hummingbird hovering at a flower having a drink of nectar. Its wings are a misty blur either side of it. In an instant, it might dart forward, sideways, backwards or even upside down, wings beating furiously at 50 to 80, or even more, beats per second. The number of beats per second varies according to the size and species of the bird. It has been reported that a hummingbird can travel at speeds of 30 to 60 miles per hour (50 to 100 km/h) and then abruptly stop and hover in one position. How do they accomplish these amazing aerobatic feats?

Sleepy Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds have incredibly busy days. Their heart is beating 1000 times a minute. This gets even mo repaid after the hummingbird starts flapping its wings 10-80 beats a second! In addition to buys days, hummingbirds need to keep their body temperature as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit (or 40 degrees Celsius).

Arizona Snowbirds

Winter weather’s closing in on many North American towns. Most migrant birds have finished their move south, escaping the cold. Why not follow them? A winter trip to SE Arizona is a great cure for a bird-watcher’s winter blues.

Costa Rica: A perfect bird-watching holiday

Many bird-watchers see their first tropical birds in Costa Rica. More than 850 species of birds inhabit Costa Rica’s rainforests, mountains, and tropical islands.

The Wonders of Migration

Each autumn, many wild birds make an incredible journey. As the days get colder, and foods like fruit and insects get scarce, they move south to warmer lands (or north if they live in the Southern Hemisphere). This is known as migration.

Tips for keeping your hummingbirds happy

It’s easy to attract wild hummingbirds to your yard – use red feeders filled with sugar-water. The feeders are available at most gardening and bird seed stores.

Guide to Birds and Birding

Birds are warm-blooded species, that lay eggs in order to reproduce, they are characterized by feathers, hollow bones and forelimbs that are modified as wings. They range in size from tiny hummingbirds to humongous Ostriches and Emus. There are approximately 10 000 bird species in the world that are known to man, making them the most diverse class of terrestrial vertebrates.

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