Spark the love of birds with your family
Plain-English bird ID, feeder guides we’d actually buy, and easy weekend projects that bring cardinals, chickadees and hummingbirds to your yard.
Start here
Three doors into the site. Pick the one that matches what’s outside your window.
What bird is that?
Small gray bird with a crest? Black bird with white wings? Start with color and size.
Feeders & seed that work
Honest buying guides for cardinals, finches, woodpeckers and winter flocks.
Birding with kids
Ten-minute backyard activities, first binoculars, and how to start by age.
Latest from the yard
New guides five days a week, written for people who watch birds from the kitchen window.
Project FeederWatch Tally Sheet: Free Printable
A two-page tally sheet for your FeederWatch counts, plus the count rules in plain English. Season starts Nov 1.
Florida Birds Since 1966: Who’s Up, Who’s Down
59 years of USGS survey data: house sparrows down 97%, mockingbirds and blue jays down, doves and woodpeckers up.
Wet Owl: Why Soaked Owls Look So Skinny
Owls are mostly fluff. Why their feathers soak through, how little U.S. owls really weigh, and what to do if you find one.
Best Birdhouses and Winter Roosting Boxes (2026)
Bluebird boxes, a wren house, a winter roost box and an owl box, plus the right hole size for each bird.
Best Starling-Proof and Grackle-Proof Bird Feeders (2026)
Weight-set hoppers, caged feeders and upside-down suet that keep the flock off and leave room for small birds.
12 Stocking Stuffers for Bird Lovers (2026)
Small Christmas gifts a backyard birder will use, from a lens pen and hand warmers to bird-song books and feeder treats.
13 Bird Watching Gifts for Kids, by Age (2026)
Window feeders, real kid-sized binoculars, bird bingo and field guides, grouped from age 3 to 12 and up.
The Best Squirrel Baffles (2026): 7 Picks for Poles, Posts and Hanging Feeders
Cylinders, wrap-arounds, post cones and domes, and where to mount each so squirrels can’t jump past it.
Best Bird Bath De-Icers (2026): 6 Picks to Keep Water Open All Winter
How to pick a de-icer by wattage, thermostat and cord, and use one safely all winter.
Buying guides we stand behind
Every pick is rated 4 stars or better and in stock the week we publish. How we choose products →
Best Bird Feeders for Cardinals
Wide perches, big seed ports and squirrel-proofing that survives a Midwest winter.
Read the guide →Best Window Bird Feeders
Suction-cup feeders that hold in cold weather and put chickadees six inches from your coffee.
Read the guide →Best Suet Feeders
Upside-down and cage styles that bring woodpeckers and keep starlings out.
Read the guide →The Best Bird Seed
Black-oil sunflower, safflower, nyjer, and the mixes that are mostly filler.
Read the guide →Birds are easier to love when you know their names.
Spark Lark is a family bird-watching site: short, specific guides for the birds in your yard, the feeders that bring them, and getting kids outside to see them.
Follow @sparklarkbirding on Instagram for daily backyard birding tips →
Meet Spark Lark
Spark Lark started with one feeder, two kids and a lot of “what’s that bird?” Every guide is written to answer that question fast, in plain English, with photos from U.S. wildlife refuges.