Best Life Birding

Best Life Birding I am dedicated to bringing birders and photographers together for the love of searching for great birds.

08/31/2026

There are so many Mourning Doves around here that I am having to refill the feeder twice a day. Love seeing these pointy-tailed floofballs.

08/30/2026

With the expected arrival of American Woodcocks to the farm soon, I set up a ground bird feeder in the Clover Bowl and scattered some mealworms in the grass.
Hoping those fellas show up over the next few weeks but in the meantime plenty of other birds are flying in to grab a bite.
Plus, a couple of furry friends decided to stop by to steal a snack too!

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08/30/2026

With the expected arrival of American Woodcocks to the farm soon, I set up a ground bird feeder in the Clover Bowl and scattered some mealworms in the grass.
Hoping those fellas show up over the next few weeks but in the meantime plenty of other birds are flying in to grab a bite.
Plus, a couple of furry friends decided to stop by to steal a snack too!

Like what you see in this video?
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08/30/2026

The two pairs of Cerulean Warblers I found ended up nesting here this past spring and stayed on the property throughout most of the summer.
The last time they were spotted here was July 23rd. Hoping they reappear as migration gets going 👍
Yay birds!!!

08/30/2026

How well do you know your waterthrushes? Believe it or not, these individuals are two different species! On the left is a Louisiana Waterthrush vs. a Northern Waterthrush on the right. A good characteristic to look out for when differentiating these two species is the eye line. Louisiana Waterthrushes will have a thicker, whiter eye line. Both like to hang out near water, with Northern Waterthrushes sticking more to swamps and bogs while Louisianas prefer rivers and streams. Many individuals of both species have been migrating their way through our site recently!

All banding is conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey.

08/30/2026

HOLY BIRDS! 🐦

Anyone else noticing WAY more birds the past few days?

Our major fall migrations have started, and Ohio is one of the hot spots for birds to stop and refuel along the way.

Just look at last night! Nearly 300 MILLION birds were in flight across the country early this morning, with a huge amount of migration traffic overhead in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.

Our yards are their pit stops — and there are things you can do to help:

-Turn off unnecessary outdoor lights at night. Many birds migrate after dark, and bright lights can disorient them.

-Make big windows visible. Screens, closely spaced decals or other markings can reduce window strikes.

-Plant native plants. Native trees, shrubs and flowers provide insects, fruit, seeds and places to rest.

-Provide clean water. A safe place to drink and bathe can be valuable during a long journey.

And a geeky weather note: these flocks can become so thick that weather radar has been detecting the birds flying overhead!

I quit using Adobe products six months ago and have switched to processing all of my photos using the Canon Digital Phot...
08/30/2026

I quit using Adobe products six months ago and have switched to processing all of my photos using the Canon Digital Photo Professional software.
The best part is that I can do all but a few of the things I used to do with Adobe to process my RAW files.
Better yet, Canon DPP software is a free download for Canon camera owners and it’s optimized to make sure you photos look their best without using Ai tools.

Here is my simple process for how I cull and edit the photos that I take with my Canon R5 using Canon DPP.
It’s fast and easy plus it’s free.
What is not to love?

Have you used Canon DPP software to edit your pics?
Let me know in the comments below ⬇️

Photos by Sally Wildrick of Best Life Birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the Canon USA

Here’s a bird that I was surprised to see while out birding yesterday, a Veery!I’d headed out to one of the bird blinds ...
08/30/2026

Here’s a bird that I was surprised to see while out birding yesterday, a Veery!
I’d headed out to one of the bird blinds we’ve got set up on our farm to find another thrush species (Swainson’s) which had been reported in the area but ended up spotting this early migrant instead.
Last year, the Veery’s didn’t arrive on the property until September 17th so it was a surprise to see this little fella.
In fact, this Veery ended up triggering a rare bird alert on eBird as the species is not expected in our area of eastern Kentucky for another two weeks.
I sat with the bird for several minutes as he chilled out just a few feet away on a twig, watching the antics of nearby family of Northern Cardinals moving through the brush below.
It was neat to see this bird so close!

These cinnamon-colored thrushes are in that in-between mode. Breeding season is pretty much wrapped up, the spiral songs have gone quiet, and they’re shifting gears for the long trip south.
Right now they’re hopping around the damp understory and forest edges—especially near streams or in second-growth spots—flipping leaf litter for whatever insects are left and loading up on berries. Dogwood, sumac, blackberries, wild cherries… basically anything sweet and energetic to pack on the fat before migration really kicks in.

They’re not super flashy or loud this time of year, so you might just catch a quick glimpse of that warm reddish-brown back disappearing into the thick stuff, or hear a soft call.
They’re mostly nocturnal travelers, so a lot of the action is happening after dark as they start heading toward South America.
If you’re out birding around the Grayson, KY area or anywhere in the eastern hills this week, slow down in those shady, moist spots and look around.
You might just be sharing the trail with one of these quiet little travelers getting ready for the big journey.
Anyone else spotting Veeries around lately?

-Triple W Farm
Grayson, KY

Photos & Video by Sally Wildrick of Best Life Birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the Canon USA

08/29/2026

Now that Adobe photo editing software (Lightroom / Photoshop) is basically just another Ai editor I am done paying for their services.
I don’t want the photos that I take to be labeled as “Ai enhanced” by default because of the metadata embedded in editing software I used.

That’s why I quit using Adobe six months ago and have switched to processing  all of my photos using the Canon Digital Photo Professional software.
The best part is that I can do all but a few of the things I used to do with Adobe to process my RAW files.
Better yet, Canon DPP software is a free download for Canon camera owners and it's optimized to make sure you photos look their best without using fake Ai tools.

Here is my simple process for how I cull and edit the photos that I take with my Canon R5 using Canon DPP.
It's fast and easy plus it's free.
What is not to love?

🐦‍⬛😎🐦‍⬛
THESE ARE REAL BIRDS.
NO AI WAS USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO.

Have anyone else noticed the Mourning Doves are turning into absolute little terrors this late August? 🤣Normally they’re...
08/27/2026

Have anyone else noticed the Mourning Doves are turning into absolute little terrors this late August? 🤣

Normally they’re the chillest birds around—soft cooing, gentle ground-feeders, the whole “symbol of peace” vibe.
But right now?
Wing-slapping, chasing each other (and other birds) off feeders, puffing up, dive-bombing… pure drama.
I’ve filmed quite a few of these
feisty dove fights with the ChirpCam over the past month.
Seeing just how fast they go from sweet and nice to cold as ice in mere seconds is surprising.
Such big grump energy lol!

What’s up with this aggressive behavior?
Well, breeding season for Mourning doves here in Grayson, Kentucky runs from mid-February all the way into early October.
This means that late August is still prime time for those last nests and fledglings.
When they’ve got babies or a nest to protect, the sweet coo of a Mourning Dove turns into “get off my lawn” real quick.
On top of that, summer’s successful broods mean there are way more doves around right now. More birds = more competition for the good spots (seed piles, berry bushes, that perfect perch). They’re also starting to gather into bigger flocks before fall, so everyone’s sorting out the pecking order.
It’s not personal—they’re just running on pure parent/territorial instinct while the season winds down.
By September/October they’ll usually mellow out again as nesting wraps up and they shift into more social flock mode.

Anyone else’s feeders getting dive-bombed by a “peaceful” dove this week?
Drop your stories in the comments below 👇

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

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Grayson, KY
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