Best Life Birding

07/24/2026

Sassy pants lol

A juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Brown-headed Cowbird square...

07/22/2026

Ever spotted a southern flying squirrel around eastern KY late July? These little nocturnal ninjas are super active right now in our woods!

They glide silently up to 150 feet between trees at dusk, using their furry “wings” like tiny acrobats.
I’ve never seen one in flight myself but I’m hoping one day this ChirpCam feeder will catch one gliding in to grab a bite at the feeder.

It’s peak baby season btw—moms are raising litters of 2-7 furry little cuties right now.
This means lots of hungry mouths to feed so the parents head out every night on a ‘snacks run.
On the menu?
True omnivores, these furry fellas love snacking on my PB&J Suet rounds, insects, nuts, fruits, and even some bird eggs.

Flying Squirrels are fairly common in eastern KY but are not often seen because they are strictly nocturnal creatures.
They’re sneaky and mostly hidden, but you can locate them by listening for their soft squeak calls at night.
If you like to catch a glimpse of one too, keep an eye out on your bird feeders just after sunset.
Btw, love that my ChirpCam camera has a light so that we can see all the sweet furry details clearly in the dark.

Such cool neighbors!
Who’s seen one? 🐿️

Videos by of Best Life Birding on my favorite feeder cam ChirpCam Smart Bird Feeder with 4K Cam for Birdwatching

Like what you see?
Get 25% off your ChirpCam order + free shipping!
PROMO CODE ➡️bestlife_birding
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07/22/2026

Cowbird free for 3 weeks lol!
I replaced my normal seed blend with safflower seeds, fresh oranges, cherries, raisins & peanut butter and jelly suet and lo and behold, the Cowbirds were replaced by Tanagers and Chats.
Pretty cool 😎

https://youtu.be/1B8lvSHPXF8?is=ULpVBI8iHhbJxXK0

Triple W Farm
Grayson, KY

So happy to finally thwarted the resident flock of Brown headed Cow...

07/22/2026

One of the most beautiful birds here in eastern Kentucky is the Summer Tanager.
I’ve been trying to attract these guys to visit my feeders by offering suet, fresh oranges and other fruits. This week those efforts finally paid off with the appearance of a young female who stopped by to grab a bite.
Success!

These striking red birds are easy to spot (even in the treetops) with that vibrant plumage.
The males are crimson colored with a few bits of orange feathers mixed in during molting periods while the females & juveniles are dressed in a lovely yellow and warm brown plumage.
Though their diet mainly consists of fruit, they are particularly fond of eating bees and Katydids.
They’ve got an interesting way of eating their six legged prey, which includes bashing the insect against a branch, and then eating the head first.
These birds have a sweet tooth too which means you can attract them to your own backyard by offering fresh fruits, orange or berry flavored suet and and jelly at your feeders.

Summer Tanagers are found throughout the state, but they’re most numerous in the central and western regions.
When out in the field, look for them hunting for a meal in the mid canopy layers of the trees in mixed deciduous woods, from pine stands to oak forests.
They’ll be here in Kentucky through mid September so you should have plenty of time to get out there and see one too.

Photos by of Best Life Birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the Canon USA
Videos on ChirpCam Smart Bird Feeder with 4K Cam for Birdwatching

Want a Chirpcam smart bird feeder too?
Visit https://mychirpcam.com and use the PROMO CODE
⬇️
bestlife_birding

to get 25% off your ChirpCam order + free shipping!

07/21/2026

Love seeing all the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds zipping around the farm these days 🙂

Triple W Farm
Grayson, Kentucky

Every once in a while I like to try new things. Today I setup my Ca...

07/20/2026

still working on the Manual of Flycatcher Identification. This book, if we ever finish, will have a lot of new fundamental information. We will also hope to present things differently from what has been done before in the ornithological literature. One new contribution is a different way of measuring a bird. Traditionally, we have all relied on absolute measurements: tail length, wing chord, bill length, etc. Fir very similar species like Empidonax, these measurements just don’t work. Maybe sometimes, but most of the time they lead to confusion or misidentification. In absolute measurements, there is variation caused by differences in size of the bird, sexual dimorphism, biases in sample preparation, biases and errors in how live birds are measured, and shrinkage of specimens with time. Bottom line is that all of these factors swamp out real differences between species. So in our upcoming book, we have turned to relative primary tip spacings. That is the relative spacing between two primary tips in a folded wing. These ratios are much less affected by sample preparation and preservation and body size. And they are completely immune to observer bias and error because measurements can be done digitally from an image under controlled conditions. Almost every Empidonax has a unique primary tip code. Combined with more traditional field marks, one now has a powerful and objective way of identifying flycatchers. The challenge is how to simplify what seems very technical into a clear workflow that everyone can understand and use.

07/20/2026

The reigning champs of the World Series of Birding—a team of five men in their 20s—have found in recent years that their hobby might be … cool? To explore the rise of Gen Z’s birding era, Rachel Gutman-Wei joined the group in a New Jersey wetland as they competed to identify as many species as possible. https://theatln.tc/HjMMj3Gu

Read more at the link.

🎨: Sally Nixon

07/19/2026

Latest episode of Breakfast with the Birds just dropped on my channel 🐦‍⬛🦅🦆

As summer draws on, birds are out there in force feeding their youn...

07/19/2026

Hey everyone!
I wanted to update y’all with a deal I’ve scored for my friends here on Insta for ChirpCam smart bird feeder cameras.

PROMO CODE
⬇️
bestlife_birding

Anyone who uses this code will get 25% off their ChirpCam order + free shipping!
Pretty sweet 🐦‍⬛😎🐦‍⬛

Over the past year, I’ve been trying out different remote bird feeder camera systems and have found that the Chirp Cam is hands down the best one on the market.
The ChirpCam is a smart AI-powered bird feeder with a built-in high-quality camera designed for photography obsessed bird nerds like us!

Key Features:
• 4K UHD Video & High-Res Photos — Crystal-clear footage with a wide-angle lens (around 94°), fast 0.4s trigger speed, and excellent low-light/night vision performance.
It even has a light that comes on at night so even in the dark, you can see every detail clearly.

• AI Bird Identification — The camera software automatically recognizes species in real-time via the companion ChirpCam app, with details on migration patterns, fun facts, and more. Includes “Dr. Chirp” for chat-based ornithology insights.

• Live Streaming & Real-Time Alerts — Watch birds from anywhere on your phone; get instant notifications when visitors arrive.

• Durable & User-Friendly Design — IP66 weatherproof, long-lasting 10,000mAh rechargeable battery (months per charge), gravity-fed seed system (mess-free, 1.5L capacity), plus an adjustable perch for multiple birds, squirrel deterrents,

- Easy set up & excellent WiFi connectivity
- Voice prompts for network setup
- Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G) setup. Includes wall mount, 32GB microSD, etc.

Btw, unlike most smart bird feeder cameras, the ChirpCam doesn’t even require the Wi-Fi connection to trigger!
The camera will automatically capture photos & videos and store them on a memory card which you can remove and then upload onto your computer.
You can even take the camera out of the feeder and mount it on a tripod for even more versatility in camera placement in the field.

So if you’re in the market for a smart bird feeder camera system, visit https://mychirpcam.com
and don’t forget to use promo code

bestlife_birding

07/19/2026

Hey everyone! I’ve scored a deal for my friends on ChirpCam smart bird feeder cameras.

PROMO CODE
⬇️
bestlife_birding

Anyone who uses this code will get 25% off their ChirpCam order + free shipping!
Pretty sweet 🐦‍⬛😎🐦‍⬛

Over the past year, I’ve been trying out different remote bird feeder camera systems and have found that the Chirp Cam is hands down the best one on the market.
Ok,but what is a ChirpCam?

The ChirpCam is a smart AI-powered bird feeder with a built-in high-quality camera designed for photography obsessed bird nerds like us! It turns our backyards into a live nature documentary hub.

Key Features:
• 4K UHD Video & High-Res Photos — Crystal-clear footage with a wide-angle lens (around 94°), fast 0.4s trigger speed, and excellent low-light/night vision performance.
It even has a light that comes on at night so even in the dark, you can see every detail clearly.

• AI Bird Identification — The camera software automatically recognizes species in real-time via the companion ChirpCam app, with details on migration patterns, fun facts, and more. Includes “Dr. Chirp” for chat-based ornithology insights.

• Live Streaming & Real-Time Alerts — Watch birds from anywhere on your phone; get instant notifications when visitors arrive.

• Durable & User-Friendly Design — IP66 weatherproof, long-lasting 10,000mAh rechargeable battery (months per charge), gravity-fed seed system (mess-free, 1.5L capacity), plus an adjustable perch for multiple birds, squirrel deterrents,

- Easy set up & excellent WiFi connectivity
- Voice prompts for network setup
- Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G) setup. Includes wall mount, 32GB microSD, etc.

*In my experience (living way out in the middle of the woods with big trees, hills, giant rocks, etc.) the WiFi range of this camera system is vastly superior to other brands like Birdbuddy or Netview Birdfy.
This means I can set my camera up much further away from my router and place it in remote locations than traditional backyard feeder cameras can go..

Better yet (unlike most brands) the camera doesn’t even require the Wi-Fi connection to trigger!
The camera will automatically capture photos & videos and store them on a memory card which you can remove and then upload onto your computer.
You can even take the camera out of the feeder and mount it on a tripod for even more versatility in camera placement in the field.

So if you’re in the market for a smart bird feeder camera system, visit https://mychirpcam.com
and don’t forget to use promo code

bestlife_birding

to get 25% off your order and free shipping!