The birds exhibited below are those that work both sides of the ecotonal aisle. They’re happy hanging around your house in a planted spruce (Chipping sparrow) or those that gladly find a wet sod lawn conducive with its long history with the earthworm (American robin). While just over the opposite side of the edge a blue grey gnatcatcher is pulling silk from a webworm pile to line its nest over some horizontal steam edge branch. The chickadee, Carolina wren, and catbird are totally at home working in and out of the edge all day skulking for insects and caterpillars tethered to the native trees and shrubs that makeup the human-nature interface. While house sparrows and mockingbirds find refuge on the human side of this imaginary 78th parallel where shelter and scraps are readily available. Others like great horned owl and rufous-sided towhees are more stealthy in their relationship with the edge of the edge, only presenting occasionally when forced into view from human intrusions or predator interactions.

The edge is a place where diversity comes to party. You never know who is going to crash it - I’ve come to find the edges my favorite place to photograph and naturize. The birds displayed here are just a few examples of the endless possibilities one might see on a casual walk along a farm field path against a shrubby wooded edge. Enjoy the show!