Why is that Northern Cardinal bald? We all have bad hair days. Birds have bad feather weeks every late summer as they go through molt. Some, like Northern Cardinals, take the process to the extreme. 

Spring migration is about to bring millions of birds north along the Atlantic Flyway, a welcome sight for Virginia bird-lovers emerging from a season of persistent cold and stubborn snowbanks. With these birds, concern is also returning about a bird flu outbreak that has been active in the U.S. since early 2022.

An “irruption” is a large-scale movement of birds to a new area, somewhat similar to migration. However, unlike regular fall and spring migrations, irruptions are typically driven by resource availability (such as food scarcity) and thus occur more randomly, with some winters seeing big irruptions and others seeing none at all.

An enigma alighted on an Arlington birdfeeder in late July, a sparrow-sized bird with an inverted feeding style and a prodigious beak almost as long as its brown and white body. Who was this strange visitor? 

How do our feathered friends survive winter? They have two options: migrate south to warmer temperatures or adapt to the winter weather.