Sunning and Anting, Remarkable Bird Behaviors in the Summer Issue of NH Bird Records
This bird may look dead, but it’s perfectly fine! It is “sunning” and exposing its preen gland to ultraviolet light for some vitamin D. The photographer Dennis Skillman watched it fly away a moment after he took the photos. Sunning may help birds rid themselves of parasites, as does another odd behavior called “anting.” When birds go anting, they crush ants in their bill and wipe the formic acid on their feathers. See photos and read about both these amazing behaviors in the Summer 2022 issue of New Hampshire Bird Records.
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Summer 22 Contents
- Colors of Summer
- From the Editor – Volunteer Needs, Birding Ethics Web Page
- “Share Our Shores” – A Bird-friendly Photography Website
- 2022 Goodhue-Elkins Award – Rob Woodward
- Celebrating the Birds of the Squam Lakes Region by Iain MacLeod
- Summer Season: June 1 through July 31, 2022 by Jason Pietrzak
- Regional Report, Coos County by Robert A. Quinn
- Summer 2022 Field Notes Anita Fernandez, Editor
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird Rescue by Joe Reisert
- Seven Juvenile Sora found in Hollis
- Historic Note: Virginia Rail Chick Reunited in Barrington
- Common Merganser Chick Hitching a Ride by Anita Fernandez
- An Irate House Wren Moves In by Anita Fernandez
- Dive Bombed by a Merlin in Winchester by Joshua Jarvis
- Hairy Woodpecker Feeding Eastern Bluebird Chick by Amy Severino
- Red-shouldered Hawk Nest by Rebecca Suomala
- Late Nesting Orchard Orioles at Pickering Ponds photos by Alan Murray
- Common Nighthawk 2022 Nesting Season by Rebecca Suomala
- Stories of New Hampshire’s Nesting Kestrels
- Nesting Saw-whet Owl in Dublin, NH by Tom Warren
- Field Trip Report – Birding for All at the Edward MacDowell Lake in Peterborough by Phil Brown
- Two Peterborough Birding Hotspots by Nora Hanke
- The Odd Behavior of Anting and Sunning compiled by Anita Fernandez
- Backpack Birder – Nest-finding on a Father’s Day Hike by Jason Pietrzak
- Report Unique Distance for eBird Traveling Counts by Nora E. Hanke
- Whip-poor-will Habitat Research by Jeffrey T. Larkin
- Help Your Chickadees by Rebecca Suomala
- New Hampshire Rare Birds Committee Report: Spring 2021 through Winter 2021-22
- What to Watch for in Summer