Helping You Understand Birds, Backyards & Birding Gear
OwlRatings is an independent publication focused on birding, backyard birds and wildlife-friendly outdoor spaces. We create practical, research-based guides designed to make bird behavior, habitat decisions and birding equipment easier to understand.
Our Mission
Birding can be wonderfully simple: notice a bird, become curious and start paying attention.
But questions about feeders, food, bird baths, nest boxes, backyard habitat, behavior and optics can quickly become confusing. Advice online is often inconsistent, overly broad or written mainly to sell a product.
OwlRatings aims to make those decisions easier by combining careful research with clear explanations of what is known, what depends on context and what trade-offs actually matter.
What OwlRatings Covers
The site is focused specifically on Birding & Backyard Wildlife.
How We Research Our Guides
The right research process depends on the question. A guide about nest-box placement requires different evidence from a binocular comparison or an article about bird behavior.
Rather than relying on one universal source type, OwlRatings aims to use the strongest available evidence for the specific claim.
Start With the Reader’s Question
We identify what someone actually needs to understand or decide rather than starting with a product we want to recommend.
Find Appropriate Sources
Depending on the subject, research may include conservation organizations, government or university resources, peer-reviewed research and other authoritative references.
Verify Product Information
For gear coverage, manufacturer specifications and documentation are checked separately from independent evidence and editorial interpretation.
Explain the Trade-Offs
We aim to explain who a product, setup or approach may suit, where its limitations are and when another option makes more sense.
OwlRatings does not describe a product as personally tested, field-tested or used long-term unless that testing actually occurred. Research-based product analysis is identified and written as research-based analysis.
Our Editorial Principles
- Separate verified facts from manufacturer claims and editorial interpretation.
- Prefer authoritative and original sources for important factual claims.
- Avoid presenting general bird or wildlife guidance as a universal guarantee.
- Explain important uncertainty, regional variation and species differences.
- Do not invent hands-on experience, field testing or long-term product use.
- Correct material factual problems when they are identified.
- Keep commercial relationships separate from editorial conclusions.
Who Runs OwlRatings?
Jonathan Gron
OwlRatings is run by Jonathan Gron .
Jonathan researches, writes and develops practical online content designed to turn complicated questions into clearer decisions.
OwlRatings previously covered a much broader range of consumer topics. The publication is now being developed around a more focused mission: building useful, well-researched coverage of birding, backyard birds, wildlife-friendly habitat and relevant observation gear.
Affiliate Transparency
Some OwlRatings pages may contain affiliate links. When a reader purchases through an eligible affiliate link, OwlRatings may receive a commission at no additional cost to the reader.
Affiliate relationships do not determine our editorial conclusions, and the presence of an affiliate program does not automatically make a product worthy of recommendation.
You can read the current OwlRatings Affiliate Disclosure for more information.
Corrections & Feedback
Birding guidance, product specifications and other information can change. If you notice a factual error, outdated source, broken link or something that deserves clarification, we want to know.
Useful corrections help us improve both the individual article and future coverage.
Contact OwlRatings
Have a correction, question, source suggestion or collaboration inquiry?
Email [email protected]