W.H. Chip Gross
Pam Goodwill, Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative
Q. My husband and I are arguing about an orange bird. We think it’s a male oriole. He and his partner are flying around the outside of our house all day, front to back, porch to porch, and windows everywhere. What are they and are they looking to nest?
Sue Gamble
Q. Hi, Chip: I Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your article “Spring on the wing” in the March 2024 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living print magazine. It was well-written and informative. I had always wondered why some of the red-winged blackbird’s wings were red and some were yellow. Now I know!
An attitude is subtly changing in Ohio concerning a certain species of large, charismatic wildlife. In 1969, the Buckeye State had just four pairs of nesting bald eagles remaining, a struggling population on the verge of extirpation due to the indiscriminate use of the chemical DDT. But once that chemical was banned, the birds made a steady, startling comeback, and nesting pairs of bald eagles in the state now number near 1,000. But is it possible to have too much of a good thing, even in the case of our national symbol, the bald eagle? The following two “Ask Chip” questions this month show
