Birds are everywhere! They are found on every continent, bird species have even been recorded at the North and South Poles! Flocks that have darkened the noon sky have been witnessed. They find ways for life in the coldest and hottest places on the planet. They have been seen flying over the tallest mountains and swimming in some of the coldest seas. In almost every type of habitat found on this planet, birds have developed a way of life there. In North America, birds can be found from subtropical forests of South Texas to the Arctic Tundra in Canada. As habitat successes from grasslands to forests, the bird life changes as well. Some birds are found in a wide range of habitats, while others are more specialized. Some species even change their habitat when the seasons change. For example, many warblers breed in the Northern forests during the spring and summers, while in the winter they fly south to the tropical forests of Central and South America.

U.S. deserts are home to a fairly large diversity of birds. Species such as the Greater Roadrunner, Phainopepla, Gambel's Quail, Cactus Wren, Golden Eagles and Say's Phoebe can be found here.

Black-throated Sparrows are home in the American Southwest. The specimen pictures was photographed at Oliver Lee State Park, New Mexico; which is in the Chihuahuan desert habitat.

Piney woods are a ecoregion in Souther U.S., its from Western Louisiana to East Texas, and north to Southweastern Oklahoma. Pine speceis such as Longlef Pine, Short leaf Pine and Loblolly Pine dominate most of the landscape, but some Oaks trees are present here as well. This landscape covers about 54,4000 squire miles of area. Bird Species such as Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, Bachman's Sparrows, Brown-headed Nuthatchs and Prothonotary Warblers live this this habitat.

Gulf Coast Prairies extend from Louisiana to South Texas. It comprises of coastal marshes and prairies. This habitat provides breeding area for a number of species egrets & herons, Roseate Spoonbills and Brown Pelicans. It is also winter grounds for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl, shorebirds and a small population of the highly endangered Whooping Crane. This stretch of land is also an important area for migrating song birds, hundreds of of species stop in this area on their way back to the forests of North America. Birding hot spots such as Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), High Island, Anahuac NWR and Laguna Atascosa NWR attract thousands of bird watchers & wildlife photographers every spring & winter.

South Texas brush lands are home to many subtropical birds. In addition to the brushland habitat, there are some grasslands, oak forests, riparian forests and tropical sabal palm forest (very little left). Most of the plant life are under three meters tall.

Species such as the Altamira Orioles, Green Jays, Pyrrrhuloxias, Audubon's Orioles and Great Kiskadees are found nowhere else in the United States. This high diversity attachs thousands of birders to South Texas every year.

Bald cypress Swamps are found in many areas in north America. These trees can grow to almost 120 feet tall and up to 6 feet in diameter. Places like Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, North & South Carolina, New jersey, Illinois all have Bald Cypresss swamps. Bald Eagles, Ospreys and Herons nests on the top of these trees. Their seeds provide foods for evening wild turkeys and wood ducks. Their leaves and the spanish moss that hang from them provides foraging for Prothonotary and Yellow-throated Warblers.

The Edwards Plateau is in the Central Texas, located betwen the Chihuahuan Desert and the Blackland Prairies. This area has a mixtures of juniper & post oak woodlands, oak savannahs and grasslands. Places like the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve and Balcones Canyonlands NWR and Fort Hood Military Base provides habitat for the endangered Black-capped Vireos and Golden-cheeked Warblers.

As Blair Society scientists visit more habitats, we will add more to this section.