No Tricks, Just Birdy Halloween Treats

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JOY OF BIRDS | OCTOBER 2024

How Bird-Friendly Are Your Halloween Decorations?

Don’t make Halloween a horror for birds! While some holiday activities can lead to unintended consequences for birds and other animals, Halloween is particularly concerning. The string, webbing, and netting used in many haunting displays can quickly become booby traps during the already stressful fall migration season. Celebrate Halloween in a bird-friendly way with this guide on how to ensure your decorations are scary-good for both people and birds.

New Research Shows Crows Can Count Aloud Like Toddlers

Counting down the days to Halloween? Crows can do that, too! Members of the crow family are among the smartest birds in the world. In fact, a recent study shows that crows have more sophisticated counting abilities than anyone ever realized. Learn more about these clever corvids’ math skills.

Carrion Crow. Photo: Alex M Shepherd/Flickr (CC0 1.0)

Make Birds Feel at Home With a Brush Pile

Brush piles are a simple and effective way to provide familiar comfort for cardinals, catbirds, flickers, and other feathered friends that thrive in the shrubby transition zones between forests and meadows. Learn more about how brush piles help wildlife and how you can make your own.

House Wren perched in a brush pile. Photo: C. Hamilton/Shutterstock

A silhouette of a bird surrounded by fog.

Can You Identify the Birds Behind These Creepy Calls?

Just in time for Halloween, we compiled 10 of the most unsettling nighttime notes, ghoulish groans, and banshee-like wails from across the bird world. See if you can match the eerie sounds to their sources by taking this eerie bird call ID quiz.

Photo: Cameron Darnell

An illustration of a box of herbal tea, binoculars, spearmint oil, and preen cream.

How Being With Birds Can Boost Your Mental Health

With both Election Day and the holiday season coming soon, we all need a little relief from the stress of everyday life. While simply enjoying the great outdoors is clearly beneficial, recent studies show that, specifically, everyday avian encounters can boost happiness and relaxation. Learn more about the benefits of birding and ways you can connect with nature more deeply.

Illustration: Emily Renaud/Audubon

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